The US House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and its Senate counterpart, the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), began as fairly obscure pieces of legislation. Introduced in October and May of last year respectively, both acts floated under the radar of the news media (and it seems, many congressmen) until last[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
Admin was right to refuse the referenda
The administration has decided not to recognise the mandates of two recent student referenda, conducted last fall by elections-SSMU concerning McGill’s branch of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG), and CKUT, McGill’s student radio station. The result may be that the referenda are revised and repeated later this semester. [Read More…]
Jutras report must be the start, not the end
It would be all too easy to ignore the events of Nov. 10 at the start of a new semester. Dean Jutras’ report on the events of Nov. 10 was released to the general public on Dec. 15, just in time for most students to want to forget about the[Read More…]
An open letter from members of the Political Science Department
1 December 2011 To the McGill Tribune: On November 14, 2011, seventeen faculty members and one administrative officer of the Department of Political Science sent a letter to Principal Heather Munroe-Blum expressing their concern about the shocking events of Nov. 10 on the McGill campus. The letter urged[Read More…]
Calendars, chocolates, and world peace
Holidays are a great time of year to practice your fake smile and insincere thank-you note writing skills. They’re also a great time to buy useless junk for people you don’t really know all that well and to receive a bunch of useless junk from other people you don’t really[Read More…]
For a ruthless criticism of everything existing
I started writing Pinata Diplomacy three and a half years ago in the McGill Daily. I had included in my columnist application a few clips from high school, where I used my position as opinion editor of the student paper to complain about the many hypocrisies of my suburban New[Read More…]
Should journalism ever express opinions?
These past few years have been a time of tumult for most journalistic organizations. Various forms of modern media, such as the Internet and cable television, they have challenged the dominance of print and network television, and have also challenged the orthodoxy of whether “the news” should express an opinion.[Read More…]
In defence of “Merry Christmas”
McGill Tribune “Happy Holidays!” Well, “bah, humbug” to you, too. Yes, that’s right: the politically correct platitude, “Happy Holidays” rides in the same sleigh as cranky old Ebenezer Scrooge. And just like Dickens’s notorious misanthrope, “Happy Holidays” stifles the unbridled kindness that the season brings, turning the once popular phrase,[Read More…]
The dark side of Black Friday
I’ve always thought the generic soft-pop music played in department stores and supermarkets works fairly well to calm shoppers. It lulls you into a peaceful state, and is never catchy enough to excite you. But on Black Friday, in America, it’s useless. Stores might as well blast Metallica or angsty-screamo-punk[Read More…]
