Opinion

Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.

THE SITUATION: The Irish have no class

I went to class on St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not proud of it. Society decided that this particular day would be the one where we say “the hell with it” and go AWOL – and I spat in its face. I crossed the picket line of our collective alcoholic breakdown. But then, sometimes we all have to make tough decisions.

EDITORIAL: A dollar for the DPS: a worthwhile investment

No matter how you feel about the Daily Publications Society’s editorial politics, a “yes” vote is the sensible choice on their proposed fee increase. Newspaper advertising is in the toilet – the Tribune’s advertising revenue has been cut in half in the last two years – and printing costs are steadily increasing.

OFF THE BOARD: My first mugshot

As a recent martyr for student journalism, I can say that getting arrested sucks. I attended the 14th annual March Against Police Brutality on March 15 with two other Tribune photojournalists to get some shots of the inevitable violence and rioting that occurs during the event.

PIÑATA DIPLOMACY: Obama’s declining support

From the time I arrived on campus in August 2008 to the U.S. presidential election that November, I didn’t meet a single John McCain supporter. I don’t think this was because I had a disproportionately Obamaniacal group of friends. Nor was it because we viewed him as somehow the lesser of two evils – the tone of his supporters during the campaign was hardly reflective of that kind of aw-shucks-he’s-the-best-we-have mentality that you get with someone like Michael Ignatieff.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Crime and punishment

Re: “National Insecurity” by Brendan Steven (16.03.10) In his article “National Insecurity,” Brendan Steven irresponsibly conflates two serious issues: counter-terrorism practices and the lengthening of prison sentences in Canada. After a lament about the difficulties of conducting counter-terrorism operations in Canada, Steven cited Stephen Harper’s attempts to increase prison sentences for crime among “actions that make Canada safer.

FRESH HELL: Know thyself: How hot are you really?

I don’t know what sparked celebrity doppelgänger week on Facebook, but I loved it. I had to keep enlarging people’s pictures to make sure they hadn’t suddenly gotten a lot more attractive. It’s hilarious that everyone’s idea of a doppelgänger is someone who has the same complexion, but is a few points more attractive on a 10-point scale.

COMMENTARY: Zoe was wrong: The Winter Olympics were awesome

I am of the exact opposite opinion of Zoe Daniels in her article “The Over-Hyped Olympics” (2.3.10). Right off the bat, she got my blood pounding by claiming that the Olympics “feature sports that are generally boring to watch.” I don’t see where she gets the idea that the incredible TV ratings that the Winter Olympics generate, be it for cross-country skiing or for the gold-medal hockey game – which had 10.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Cornett hits the big screen at McGill.

Students of Dr. Norman Cornett have obviously made quite a splash in the McGill/Montreal community over the last couple of years. This professor has given us an opportunity to use methodology that breaks through the limitations of our expectations and prejudices.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Emotion is a loaded word

Re: “Presidential endorsement: Sarah Woolf” (9.3.10) The Tribune sounds downright patronizing when they tell a female political candidate to control her emotions. It is as stupid and condescending to tell a woman so accomplished as Sarah to “control her emotions” as it is to assume that emotionality might hinder anyone as “forceful and rational” as she.

RIGHT MINDED: National insecurity

A culture that refuses to allow Canada’s intelligence service to do its job is putting the safety of Canadian citizens at risk. Canada’s state intelligence agency, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, has come under attack for defending national interests abroad.

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