OctTosBer 25, 2005

THE CADRE ¢ 18

Ryan’s Rant Cont. from page 5

Charlottetown could help out a lot by driving people around in our fleet of trolley busses. In fact, if the new residence is done by then we could probably even host some athletes right here on campus! We could hold darts and competitive shuffleboard events at the Legion, run track and field down at the CDP. Hell, we could even drag some benches up from the Soccer Field and let them use our existing beach volleyball facility. Plus I’m pretty sure the Engineering Department has a Ping Pong table we could probably borrow.

Now to raise the 10 or 12 billion we’d need to put on the Olympics: we'd likely have to organize a golf tournament or two and so we’d have to get the support of all PEI’s celebrities; Lori Kane, Brad Richards, Paul and Anne, Lucille Poulin, that lady who does that cooking show on Channel 10. If we’re really lucky, maybe we can get Steroid Ben to come race against a stock car again. And I’m sure those geniuses at Meteor Creek could probably throw together some kind of propane Olympic torch.

So I guess you were right Basil, we definitely could hold the Olympics, and you are definitely not the stupidest person I know. Now maybe if you and your city could get halfa clue you could figure out that no one likes your stupid Lobster Carnival, and that we have about as much chance of bringing the Olympics to Atlantic Canada as you do in getting a University of Summerside. ZING!

Have a good one! ®

ryangallant(@hotmail.com

Poverty Tour Cont. from page 1 Besides, she says, the price is

right.

“We are offering these workshops for free because we want to maximize opportunities for students to attend them. If we charge fees to attend these workshops, we are

potentially eliminating a portion of the student population who may not be able to afford to attend, but yet may want to come . Besides, “free” is always the best price for students anyway!”

Ofall the lessons one can learn in the English language, one should realize that you don’t have to be an expert, but the basics are good to know, explained Gushue.

“Perhaps what is important for students to realize is that learning grammar and punctuation does not mean that everyone must become an expert at using grammatical terminology. It does mean, however, that students gain an understanding of how to write and communicate clearly and effectively; when incorrect grammar and punctuation use detracts from an argument in an essay, memo, report, etc., knowing how to correct that error is more important than being able to name the error.”

Heather Gushue is one of two primary facilitators of these writing workshops. She has a Bachelor of Arts English Honours Degree from UPEI, and she is currently pursuing her Master of Arts Island Studies Degree at UPEI as well. She is the Graduate Student Representative on the Univeristy Writing Council. Christine Gordon Manley is the other primary facilitator of these workshops. She has completed her Bachelor of Arts English Honours Degree from UPEI, and she has also completed her Master of Arts Women’s History from Royal Holloway in the United Kingdom. She is currently the editor fo a new magazine that will be launched in December.

All workshops will take place at The Writing Centre, located in The Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning, Robertson Library Annex. For more information, call 894-2886 or email writingplace: i.ca. Below are a list of workshops dates and subjects. All workshops take place on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:30 and Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30.

October 25 & 26: Punctuation 101 — grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure

November 1 & 2: Punctuation 101 continued

November 8 & 9: The Writing Process — documentation, style, conventions November 15 & 16: The Writing Process continued

November 29 and 30: Tips for Exam Preparation (mainly for English 101

exam)

The Bottom Line Cont. from page 10

be relevant to say that the film attempts to discourage its audience from taking life too seriously by fixing a clown nose to it’s own complexity.

Then again, it seems doubtful that the film has any deeper intentions other than presenting an entertaining and insightful distraction without attempting to ruminate or lecture. Furthering this, the film also has clear good and evil dualism at work, and even pokes fun at it. Unfortunately, itis doubtful that this simplicity of purpose will convince an adult audience to see the film as being able to engage their age group, which it actually does. However, the fact that I watched this film in a near empty theatre a few days after the film had its opening night attests to the fact that animated movies still have a bit of a ways to go before they can be seen as an effective medium of artistic communication by the majority of the adult community. :

The Bottom Line

Fun for all ages, shapes, colours, and sizes.

Haiti? Cont. from page 6

reconcile their differences over Iraq. In the case of Haiti, this alliance was somewhat natural, at least historically, as Haiti was at one time a colonial possession of France and has long been regarded by the United States as being in America’s “backyard” (because of its location in the Caribbean). Furthermore, Canadian ties to Haiti (and much of the Caribbean) run quite deep. Not only does there exist a large diaspora of Haitians in Canada, mostly in Montreal, but Canadian banks and textile companies also have a large presence in the country. Also, by extending the invasion to include the United Nations, the United States has allowed the U.N. to reassert its relevance on the global stage, albeit under the shadow of the United States.

The inclusive nature of this invasion has paid some dividends to the United States. The governments of France and Canada and the Secretary General’s office of the United Nations have ceased to publicly criticize the American occupation of Iraq. But, perhaps most importantly, the invasion of Haiti has silenced those Western countries that opposed the concept of “pre-emptive war.” Pre-emptive warfare is an important feature of American foreign policy. It allows for the removal of those governments and societies that pose a “threat” to the United States, the nature of that threat being undefined.

What is the Political Backdrop to the conflict in Haiti? The crisis dates back to Haiti’s elections (the country’s third since 1957) in 2000 (the same year the U.S. experienced a contested election of their own). In Haiti, election observers contested the winners of seven senate seats (out of 7,500 total positions). The contested seats were eventually resigned and had no impact on the presidency, which was not being voted on at the time.

However, the discrepancy was enough for a small segment (one per cent) of the population to demand the president’s resignation. Examining the reasons why such a small segment of Haiti’s population had such a loud voice when opposing a popular president is beyond the scope of this article; I would suggest that readers browse http:// www.zmag.org/lam/Haitiwatch.cfm to familiarize themselves with the class and racial structures that have existed in Haiti since colonization. ie

I would further suggest that Haiti represents a test for the application

of the “failed state” theory. Haiti is but

one underdeveloped country which is not led by a government close to Washington. A successful and unchallenged occupation and transformation of Haitian society will likely make it more palatable for the invasion of country’s like Venezuela, Cuba, and others who find themselves labelled as “failures.”