THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.

Opinions

  • By January 12, 2012

    “I’m only here for the girls.” I’ll never forget reading this graffiti on my desk years ago. It was like some great poem; phrased with elegant simplicity and delivering a telling message about the human condition.

    Our classes are filled with attractive, intelligent and — most importantly — available students. It’s one of the major perks of attending university. But from my personal experience, it’s actually quite difficult asking out classmates.

  • Standoff with Iran over nuclear program could lead to conflict

    By January 12, 2012

    U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney has described Iran as “the greatest threat that the world faces over the next decade.” Surprisingly this is the first time that I have agreed with something a Republican candidate has said in as presidential campaign.

    For numerous years, Iran’s continuing development of a nuclear program has been cause for concern to the international community, with condemnations coming from the EU, U.S. and Canada, among others.

  • A tattered web: how censorship could cripple the Internet

    By January 11, 2012

    The web’s hyperlink structure works kind of like the synapses in your brain, or the blood vessels in your circulatory system. Everything is interconnected, designed to pass information back and forth, sometimes in multiple directions simultaneously. It can be mind-bogglingly complex but it works because there are relatively few blockages. People can traverse the web how they see fit.

    But imagine what would happen if massive swaths of these connections suddenly blinked offline. This is the risk posed by the Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill introduced in the U.S. Congress in October of last year that is scheduled to be voted on by Jan. 24 this year.

  • American primaries can be long and frustrating, but Canada could learn from them

    By January 5, 2012

    They say that in politics, a year is a lifetime. This certainly seems true every four years when the United States goes through a presidential election.

    Although the year has just begun, and the election isn’t until Nov. 6, Democrats and Republicans have been eyeing the 2012 election almost since Barack Obama took the last one. As a result of this perpetual campaigning, politicians in both major parties shirk actually making hard choices and governing their country, focusing instead on short-term rhetorical victories and getting the best talking points on TV.

  • Going to the mall is like a scary amusement park ride, except the lines are worse and it’s more expensive

    By January 4, 2012

    I hate the mall. Given the choice between going to the mall and taking an anal suppository, I would take the bum pill. It seems better to literally stick something up my ass than feel the deeper, more metaphorical ass-probing I’m treated to at the mall.

    I don’t believe a fun trip to the mall exists. When I find the product I came for, I leave with buyer’s regret; when I leave empty-handed, I feel I wasted the day — brainwashing myself by staring at consumer goods for hours on end. I always leave thinking I would have been better off spending my time reading, walking or, yes, even inserting a pill up my bum.

  • Bob Rae’s comeback kick-starter

    By December 7, 2011

    Over the last few months, some of the best YouTube moments have come from the cast of characters that are competing for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. From washed-up former congressmen and senators to ambitious governors, the sometimes cringe-worthy and sometimes praise-worthy performances have arrested Americans’ attention.

  • Ho ho ho! Merry secular year-end holiday!

    By December 3, 2011

    On Christmas Day this year, millions of Christians will celebrate the birth of God’s son Jesus Christ. Many secularists will also observe their own Christmas traditions: spending lavishly, earning holiday pay, cutting down trees and hanging coloured light bulbs. Others still will regard the season with disdain because they are either not fans of its message, or not fans of presents and time off work.

    I respect all these views. The only perspective I don’t like is the person who Bah-humbugs any display of Christmas spirit.

  • Saskatoon doesn’t shine on everyone: the city’s social problems must be addressed

    By December 3, 2011

    I have lived in multiple cities before and Saskatoon is probably in the worst condition. Now before you bitch at the foreigner who isn’t even from this province, please let me explain. Put away the torches and pitchforks.

    Go to the City of Saskatoon’s “Quick Facts” page online and what do you see? Pictures of the city skyline, though not in winter. You also see people walking by our beautiful riverfront, once again, not during winter. To an outside observer, Saskatoon would seem pretty awesome. And yes, we have a total of 2,381 hours of sunshine a year, the Saskatoon Exhibition, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan and our famed uranium and potash industries.