Jail Fire In Honduras

Three hundred and fifty-five people were left dead after the minimum-security prison in Comayagua, Honduras caught fire last Tuesday night.

Witnesses claim that the fire that spread throughout the prison was started by an inmate. The majority of the prisoners at the time of the fire were stuck behind bars and attempted to free themselves by all means. Those who survived said that their inmates tried to save themselves by jumping into showers or sinks as the fire tore through the prison, BBC reported.

The prisons in Honduras are all over their capacity. Comayagua prison alone has a capacity of 500 inmates and at the time of the fire contained around 800 inmates. Most of them at the time had never even been charged, let alone convicted, CBC reported.

The fire has raised the concern of overcrowded penitentiary facilities and their lack of adequate fundamental necessities in Honduras. According to CBC the prison has no medical or mental health care and the budget allows less than $1 per day per prisoner for food. Human rights groups have even chimed in with their disapproval of the prisoners lack of adequate sanitation, malnutrition and overcrowding, reported CNN.

“We are going to review the conditions in all the penitentiary centers to see how we can improve the overcrowding conditions that exist in many of our prisons,” Porfirio Lobo, the Honduran President, said.

In fact, Lobo has suspended the Comayagua prison administrators and the entire prison chain of command up to the national level, reported CNN.  Though the fire has left many families grieving, it has also brought about the awareness needed to fix the Honduras penitentiary facilities and avoid another tragic event such as this one.

“According to attorney general’s spokesman Melvin Duarte this is the world’s deadliest prison fire in a century,” CBC reported.

By Shauna Zilversmit

Tags: jail, fire, in, honduras, shauna, zilversmit

Song of the Week – “Shuffle” Bombay Bicycle Club

Tags: bicycle, bombay, club, shuffle

Call The Cyberpolice

Ya dunn goofed.

The Conservative government continues to feel the heat of multiple online attacks following Public Safety Minister, Vic Toews’ proposal of the Lawful Access Bill.

Popular online hacker group Anonymous has been releasing a slew of personal information about the Safety Minister, and are threatening to continue to do so if the legislation is not put to rest, according to the National Post.

The Conservative government claims that the purpose of the bill in question would be to have a better system in place against child predators on the web. The original proposal of the law stated that the government would be able to access Internet user’s personal information freely, without the possession of a warrant, according to The Globe and Mail.

The general population have not taken kindly to the announcement of the bill, with Internet-privacy advocates stating that the law would be an invasion of privacy of everyday Canadians.  Toews worsened the situation after he responded publicly to the reaction to the bill last week, by stating that those against the law were either with the Conservatives or “with the child pornographers,” according to the Globe and Mail.

Toews backed down from this statement, and publicly declared he was “prepared to accept their [the public’s] judgment,” according to The National Post.

Internet Advocacy group Open Media started up a petition, which now has over 100,000 signatures, against the legislation back in June 2011. According to the CBC, the group sees the law as “”warrantless wiretapping.”

“It’s a really poorly thought out bill, it’s really invasive, and frankly there’s no need for it,” OpenMedia.ca spokeswoman Lindsey Pinto said, according to The National Post. “It’s not something that’s going to be acceptable in Canadian society.”

According to CBC news, the proposed law already showed signs of a lack of support before being presented due to the failure of similar proposals in the past to make it through Parliament.

Those opposing the law have taken to the Internet to show their disapproval. According to CBC news, Twitter users decided to flood Toews with tweets describing small details of their lives.  #tellviceverything trended internationally and nationwide as word spread.

Citizens aren’t only worried about their privacy, but their pockets too. CBC reports that the lawful access bill could cost $80 million dollars to put into place. The money would be put into the installation of special equipment needed by Internet and telecommunications service providers to collect information, according to the CBC. Toews’ spokesperson would not provide the CBC with any other information.

Bernard Lord, president of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association said that not matter the costs, the government needs to know what they are getting themselves into. “”We want to make sure the government is fully aware of all the costs and that they fully compensate all the costs,” Lord said, according to CBC.

The president of the CWTA also added that it is not possible to know the full costs due to the fact that more changes will be made to the bill before it becomes an actual law, reported CBC.

The bill has not yet been passed, and the Conservatives have said that the bill will be directly sent to a parliamentary committee for review. Bills are usually sent after a second reading, however the immediate review of the bill suggests that the government is open to accepting various amendments to the bill.  This would be in order to find a solution that can be agreed upon, allowing the bill to be passed, according to the National Post.

While the prospect of a less severe bill being passed has calmed some, Internet users and advocacy groups like OpenMedia.ca do still prefer to see the scrapping of the legislation completely.

By Casandra de Masi

Tags: call, casandra, cyberpolice, de masi, the

Long-gun Registry Abolished

Ready... Aim...

Last Wednesday, Bill C-19, a bill aiming to abolish the long-gun registry in Canada, passed in the final round of voting in The House of Commons, with a closing tally of 159 to 130.

The Dawson Student Union (DSU) sent several representatives to the final vote at The House of Commons to stand in solidarity with those who’ve been touched or fallen victim to long-gun violence such as one of the many victims from the Polytechnique Massacre in 1989.

“As a student from Dawson, a community that has been directly impacted by this issue, I think it’s a terrible decision,” Olivia Generalli, a fourth semester North-South studies student said. “The bill is going to make something like a school shooting that much easier to happen in the future.”

A Polytechnique victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that she’s very disappointed in the direction the vote took. She continued by saying that that the bill “erases over a decade of effort to get the registry to its present-day state and that along with the Coalition for Gun Control, I will continue fighting for the registry to come back.”

The bill was first proposed in early 2008 by the Conservative Party and has been fiercely debated upon since. The bill involves taking over seven million long guns off the registry, as well as all previously collected data concerning those guns being deleted. Other aspects of the bill include gunsmiths no longer being legally obligated to check for a gun license when selling to a client.

According to The Huffington Post, arguments for the abolition of the registry are primarily those about the cost the registry demands, totaling over one billion dollars since 1995. The registry’s design also predominantly target law-abiding gun owners, not criminals.

The opposition to the bill agrees that the long-gun registry is expensive, but is a vital necessity to Canada nonetheless reported CTV.

BBC stated that since being put in place in 1995, the registry sees over 17,000 hits a day from police and long-gun related homicides have decreased by over 41 percent.

NDP leadership-hopeful, Peggy Nash, stated that the long-gun registry does indeed have problems but ultimately needs to stay in place. “The gun registry was not made with the interests of the people who use long guns in mind and that’s a problem. If we’re [NDP] elected in 2015, we intend to bring it back but with several improvements, like removing the hassle of registering a gun and overall, finding a compromising solution.”

The Conservative Party is currently under fire about the manner in which they celebrated their victory. While Conservative Quebec MP Maxime Bernier told the CBC that the Conservatives just had a simple “party to mark the bill’s passage [...] and to celebrate the government keeping a campaign promise,” Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae said “I think it’s a big mistake for the Conservative Party [...] to assume that all Canadians share their sense that this is a cause for celebration.”

Pauline Marois, leader of the Parti Quebecois, also commented and feels like the Conservatives are inappropriately celebrating Bill C-19’s passing. Marois told the CBC that the Conservative party is treating the win “like it was a hockey match.”

The bill is set to continue to Senate for yet another round of voting and a few other committee hearings. It is expected to go through with very little trouble due to the large Conservative Senate majority.

By Alexandra Herrington

Tags: abolished, Alexandra, gun, Herrington, long, news, registry

Song of the week

Tags: anna sun, song of the week, walk the moon

Ema the explorer

So that you can visualize shoes

You’re obviously asking yourself why the hell I’d think you’re stupid enough not to bring shoes when travelling. The reason is very simple: not all “shoes” should be called shoes.

You know those tiny amiable sole-less (no ginger hate) pieces of fabric some people call “flats” or “ballerina slippers”? Hard to break it to you, but those ain’t shoes. You’re better off buttering toast and sticking them to the bottom of your feet for comfort. Am I insulting your little overprices shoesies and hurting your feelingsies? Fine, wear those Geisha-type-bonding-torture-devices and watch your feet die. That’s right, you’ll become a MURDERER.

Same thoughts go towards Hunters, flip-flops and those really expensive heels that you bought for 75% off on boxing day: they aren’t meant for traveling. And for them boys, those battered-up, untied and toe-revealing sneaks are a big no-no.

Did I just diss all the shoes you’ve ever owned? Good. Now then, go to the store and look for something practical. Get something with a strong sole and that laces up well (not too tight, but you want it to hold your foot in place). For sandals, or anything else that exposes the foot, look for something that adjust at the heel so that the shoe doesn’t flipflop like a flip-flop.

I’m not saying you have to wear running shoes or hunka-chunka hiking shoes, but you should. If not, get some quality sneakers that can take hours of walking.

The reason to get good shoes is because when you travel, you’re expected to walk. Last thing you want is having to pull out your duct-tape and sticking it on your blisters (actually a great tip if you do get blisters). If you are expecting to go out, pack those other shoes in your suitcase and pull the out when needed.

A really important note is also to break into your shoes because taking them on your trip. In other words, wear them a bit so that they mold and shape to your feet’s comfort.

And for the record, when explorin’ new countries, you should be excited to see and experience new things rather than showing of your cute shoes.

Written By: Ema Kibirkstis

Tags: ema the explorer, voices

COMRADES

Dear Comrades for the committee of People who celebrate Valentino’s day,

I find your celebration of this saint with most untrustworthy name of Valentine to be quite misrepresented. We at the Politburo have found out very truthful story about him, mostly from our files on the interrogation we put his brother through at Lubianka. Yes, we beat shit out of him and then wrote report that had nothing to do with what he actually told us. Saint Valentine was actually North African filthy priest who emperor decide to stoned and clubbed to death.  That is most efficient method of killing enemy of the state! It is so that KGB decide to adopt as method of most gentile execution. Getting back to your fuckin fabulous friend valentine, you westerners actually celebrating most brutal death of man by buying plenty of useless shit for woman of yours. You sick fucks.

This gets me on subject of the woman on this most expensive of days for men. My fellow proletarian brothers, why do you spend hard earned wages on women who half the time no appreciate? Do you realize that comrade can go all year buying nothing for sex giver and take her out on Valentino’s day and that is all she will remember? Imagine all the money you can save up and give to your local Communist party secretary!

Why is victim of clubbing’s day all about woman? Women in your America that is north expect too much. For past 70 years they have screamed at top of lungs for equality. This has been granted for in Soviet Union all are equal. Now comes problem of this application: they are equal yet son of bitch taking them out better always pay, they have arms to open doors but Niet! You must open (they are lazy), and lastly they demand equal wages! Well soviet answer to that is:” When you stay on Titanic and men and children get off first, then you get equal wages.”

I have most important announcement: For the present future, I will answer your questions at the end of my letters to you. If you wish to ask what you think is important question, please send to commissarplakov@hotmail.ca

Until then have most fantastic week and try not to get the clapping disease.

Yours Sovietly,

Commissar Anton Plakov

Tags: comrades, valentines day

SHIZZ IN THE BIZZ

Adele conquers the Grammy world, Coldplay lights up the stage, the stars play tribute to the late Whitney Housten and Nicki Minaj introduces us to Roman. The biggest names in music came out to play last Sunday at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

I am not going to sit here and give you a play by play on what happened; I am just going to gush over the things I liked and bitch about what I didn’t; because we all know that’s how it’s done. I must just start off by saying how surprised I am at the set design for these award shows. Every artist had an amazing stage for their performances. Some poor gophers backstage must have been running around trying to get everything together. The night was all about the show, and not so much the trophies. It took an hour just to give out two of the golden babies.

There were so many amazing performances; I don’t even know where to start. Forget the fact that Paul McCartney performed because he’s just light years ahead of everyone else! But my babies Coldplay and princess RiRi lit up the stage, Chris Martin et al bringing their glow in the dark theme for their new tour to the Grammy scene. I was really impressed by Bruno Mars, charming little guy! He really knows how to work the stage despite his wonky eyes.

Maroon Five and Foster the People delivered a swoon worthy tribute to the Beach Boys. My mother was impressed so I’ll take her word for it. I am just happy that Adam Levine sang in his falsetto. The Beach Boys looked confused though, they were probably thinking about how much larger the audience for the Ed Sullivan show has gotten over the years.

Adele swept up the awards, winning six awards including Record of the year and Album of the year, She returned to the stage with grace and triumph after having not performed for a while since her vocal chord surgery.  Can I just say that she looked amazing!

Chris Brown continued to try to clean up his reputation by jumping off some glowing stairs with his albino vampire bat friends and waving around David Guetta’s glow sticks. He was entertaining enough, although the whole segment with Guetta, Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 had my head spinning. I really liked the effects, but as soon as the creature that is Lil Wayne came out screeching into a microphone wearing yellow transformers on his feet, my ears began to curl into themselves.  I really don’t get the appeal. Also, he’s so awkward. He raps a few lines and then saunters off stage like a sloth, his pants reaching his ankles.

Nicki Minaj had me cringing too. I must say, her music is a guilty pleasure of mine, and I find her entertaining enough. But honestly, what the hell was I watching?  Apparently Minaj has an alter ego named Roman and he needed an exorcism. People were dying and being all sexual up in church. The screen kept cutting to some low budget film of Minaj crouching like a daddy longlegs on the ceiling corner of a room. What? It’s o.k. to be shocking, but don’t be shockingly bad.

Unfortunately, the loss of Whitney Houston hung over everyone like a dark cloud throughout the evening, as expected. However, I think that everyone dealt with it gracefully, with LL Cool J saying some words to open the show, and Jennifer Hudson modestly performing “I Will Always Love You,” in tribute.

All in all, it was an interesting show, but a long one albeit. I started to loose interest towards the end. I was upset that Mumford and Sons did not win anything, and didn’t perform either. Coldplay and Mumford both lost out to The Foo Fighters. I am definitely not a fan. Bon Iver won best “new” artist, a little late in terms of the wording of the award but merited none the less. He was also adorable accepting the award. Apparently the 12 year old J Cole fans were flipping their lids on the internets. They were also inquiring who Paul McCartney was on twitter.   Drink your warm milk and go to bed kids.

Written By: Casandra De Masi

Tags: adele, grammys, shizz in the bizz, voices

Choking Vs Cheetahs

The AAA men’s Dawson Blues basketball team couldn’t overcome their poor outside shooting and sloppy play on Sunday, losing 78-64 to the Vanier Cheetahs. Dawson shot a paltry 21% from the field in the first half, and started the game off extremely slowly as Vanier jumped out to a 30-13 first quarter lead. Kurt Caro and Brandon Robinson, Dawson’s two leading scorers coming into the game, finished the first half a combined 2-for-16 from the field, underlining the Blues’ shooting struggles.

Dawson also struggled from the three-point line, as they finished 2-for-18 from behind the arc and only hit their first three with two minutes left in the game.

“Today we were off with our shooting,” point guard Kurt Caro said. “We should have adapted and attacked the bucket more, and that’s our own fault.”

The Blues had been shooting well over their past few games, but today the shots just weren’t falling, said Assistant Coach Michael Moody.

“We settled a lot for the jump shot, but over the past three games that’s what was working for us,” Moody said. “They gave us open looks, we just couldn’t knock them down.”

Missed free throws and turnovers also plagued Dawson in the first half, as they couldn’t seem to get any rhythm going offensively. The Blues turned the ball over 21 times in the game, and gave the Cheetahs lots of opportunities for fast breaks and easy scores.

“We definitely didn’t take care of the ball and we had way too many turnovers,” Moody said. “They had as many turnovers as we did, but the big thing was that we didn’t capitalize and turn those turnovers into offense like them.”

By the time the half time buzzer sounded, the Blues had dug themselves into a deep 44-29 half time hole that they could never get out of.

Dawson continued to struggle in the third quarter, missing three three-pointers to open the half. The Blues couldn’t muster much offense in the third frame, but managed to keep the score at a respectable 61-44 thanks to their defense, led by power forward Brian Ofori.

Ofori made his presence felt down low, blocking over 10 shots and altering countless others. He played tough defense in the paint, and made life very difficult for the Vanier front court.

Most of Vanier’s scoring in the game came from their backcourt, and specifically guard Benjamin Millaud-Meunier, who is currently second in the league in scoring with 17.3 points per game. The Blues had no answer for Meunier, as his mix of inside and outside shooting gave the Dawson defense fits all game.

The Blues were able to turn it on a bit in the fourth quarter though, as they started to capitalize on the Cheetahs’ mistakes and outscored the home team 20-17 in the frame.

“We started running the floor more and scoring on our opportunities,” Caro said. “We were able to hit some layups instead of just jacking up threes.”

Dawson cut the lead to 12 with two minutes to go in the game, but it was a classic case of too little, too late for the Blues.

“We didn’t give up,” Moody said. “We fought hard and got back into the game, but it just didn’t work out for us.”

Written By: Daniel Sailofsky

Tags: basketball, blues, cheetahs, Dawson, sports

SHCF

Tags: Dawson, memes, SHCF