Buy good karma, fund my addiction

Ancient teachings lost in popular culture

Zara Urvashi Ramaniah

Karma doesn't work like that.

Canada hates medieval do-goodery

Meghan Keating

The controversial Robin Hood tax could potentially raise $650-billion in one year.

Greece's debt causes fear worldwide

Other nations may be affected by EU financial turmoil, including Canada

Zara Urvashi Ramaniah

Greece's volatile economy may cause the collapse of the European Union, and affect the financial stability of the entire world.

Homeopathy in denial

Jonathan Comeau

Alternative medicines are on the rise as an increasing number of patients try to fill the void left by the failure of Western medicine by taking a more holistic approach to their health. But while exploring alternatives is in our best interests, claims that homeopathic treatments have withstood the tests of science are false. Towards the end of the 18th...

Classroom Etiquette 101

James Learie

It’s the last five minutes of class, possibly the most important part, and the professor is just beginning to make an important announcement about the upcoming exam. Suddenly their voice is overshadowed by a cacophony of zippers and the flutter of rustling papers. The “quarter-to dash” and similar discourtesies happen daily and they’re the best examples of the terrible classroom...

Lack of discipline and policy lets executive go hog wild

Zaren White

In most workplaces, an employee would not have the option of charging personal vehicle repairs to their work credit card, letting the account accrue interest, and then paying it back when they had the money or felt like it. In most workplaces, employee credit card use is carefully monitored – you can’t just opt to put a personal expenditure on...

What really drives democracy?

Last week MUNSU shocked me again. This time it wasn't over the booking of a past-his-prime rapper, or an egg-on-the face revelation of bar tabs held by executive members. No, this time it was something different. On Friday, March 5 I had the opportunity to sit in on the candidates’ meeting for the upcoming MUNSU elections. What bowled me over...

Not pulling any punches

Russian media vicious over Canada’s extraordinary performance at Winter Olympics

Jonathan Ryan

As I finish writing this, the Canadian men’s hockey team is accepting gold medals. Despite the criticism of some of our European friends, Canadians, Americans, and the vast majority of other visiting nations seem to be very pleased about how the Winter Olympics have gone. Hell, it’s been enough to make Canadians almost completely forget about that thing with the...

Olympics end on bittersweet note

After the triumphant finale, the closing ceremony was a joke

Liam Kavanagh

Late on Sunday evening, the 21st Olympic Winter Games ended to a resounding cheer from patriotic Canadians all over the country. By and large, the recently closed Winter Olympic Games were tremendously successful for Canada; the Great White North set a new record in the amount of gold medals won. That this history-making moment occurred on home turf made it...

Pixelated tractors come in pink

Suckered into paying to farm online

James McDonald

The most played game thus far in 2010 is FarmVille, a Facebook application in which the player develops a farm and a farming community. The idea is not new. Harvest Moon, a sim-like game in which the player creates a farmer’s life, complete with cows and country fairs, has been on consoles for 14 years. However, the game series has...

Parking issue not black and white

In his letter to the editor, Mr. Fred Windsor of the Sierra club takes the campus parking situation and completely disconnects from reality to pursue his own social and environmental agenda. I would like to know what research Mr. Windsor is referring to that proves that creating more parking spaces leads to an increase in vehicle use. Is he suggesting...

Curse of the diamond

All that glitters does not feed

Diamonds have been coveted since they were first discovered and have been connected to conflict, power, and curses ever since. The Koh-i-noor is probably the most infamous diamond: Discovered in India in one of the earliest mines, it was once the largest diamond in the world. It boasts a long and bloody history and now lies – fittingly, considering its...

Osama to Obama

Bin Laden is many things to many people, but a tree hugger?

Zara Urvashi Ramaniah

Osama bin Laden doesn’t seem to be dead, as former president, George W. Bush had so eagerly hoped he was, with the drone attacks that had been and are still being religiously carried out by the U.S. in the tribal lands that cross the Afghanistan and Pakistan border. The latest audiotape from “Osama to Obama” has caused a great deal...

Big Brother’s dark side

Triumph of the Orwellian as Google attacked; FBI caught crossing the line

Zara Urvashi Ramaniah

Having grown up with computers, mobiles, credit cards, PDAs, and GPSs, we don’t think twice about the amount of information corporations and the government collect about our interests, hobbies, spending habits, or our favourite travel destinations. Identity theft is more likely now that it was 50 or 60 years ago, and we jealously guard that little something that makes us...

The year of environmental respect

So our leaders failed. It doesn’t mean we give up

Kenny Sharpe

Representatives from over 170 of the world’s countries met in Copenhagen from Dec. 7 to 18, 2009, where they discussed the desire to implement emission-reducing targets in an effort to help combat the ongoing depreciation of our environment. The plan was to provide solutions and options about our warming planet to the everyday person but the 15th installment of the...