Tag: Fighting Words

By Eric Mathison

Since the economy started its downward spiral late last summer, we of the insulated student population haven’t had need for the same apprehension as the rest of society. We have no life savings to lose, no homes to be repossessed by the bank and job security is more likely to be a security job. Sure,… Continue reading Young workers feeling the recessionís wrath

By Eric Mathison

Earth Day falls just over a week after Easter weekend and provides a nice shift in perspective from all the supernaturalism to something, well, more natural. Holidays are meant to evoke reflection, so let’s take stock of the Earth and ask: what is so good about the Earth anyway? Why should we devote so much… Continue reading Exploring the imperative behind Earth Day

By Eric Mathison

Every year, as the weather turns nice and the pack ice breaks up, the seal hunt begins. Questions arise over the ethics of killing seals in such large numbers a practice that occurs not for the feeding of northern communities (though some does go to that), but to clothe the wealthy around the world. In… Continue reading A cautionary tale of clubbing cows

By Eric Mathison

Human rights law in Alberta may be getting a much-needed revision in the near future. The announcement came last Friday from Lindsay Blackett, Alberta’s Minister of Culture, who is seeking to change laws that are badly in need of amendment. Chief among them is making the freedom to choose sexual orientation a human right; a… Continue reading Alberta minister amends human rights

By Eric Mathison

Since a 15-month-old boy from a foster home in southern Alberta was hospitalized earlier this month, questions have been raised regarding the conditions foster children face. RCMP are investigating the circumstances that led to the injury; no comments have been made regarding criminal charges. The foster program in Alberta did not receive much attention before… Continue reading Alberta’s foster child system under fire

By Eric Mathison

If the Students’ Union was a driver, it would be the type that just got its licence, and was put behind the wheel of a $17 million car equipped with a strong radar detector, so that no matter how reckless it became, little would be done to stop it. It just reached the age where… Continue reading Finding fault with the union

Johann Hari wrote an article in The Independent three weeks ago, evaluating the right to criticize religion. Islamic countries are demanding that the definition be changed for the United Nations Rapporteur on Human Rights, so that offence to religions can be stifled. The Cairo Declaration seeks to enforce shariah law, whereby critiques of Islam will… Continue reading Why the worst offence means poor defence

By Eric Mathison

Last week I finished by pointing out the difference between a scientific truth and a political (social, cultural) ought. Many people, including some well-known scientists, have confused this issue. Science is not in the business of telling us how we should live; rather, it describes the world and defines the implications of philosophical ideas. Darwinian… Continue reading Darwin part deux

By Eric Mathison

In a two-part special for the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth Feb. 12, I’ll be addressing how the theory of evolution by natural selection changed the world and how those that reject it hinder humanity. Evolution remains the easiest scientific theory to understand. Unfortunately, it is also one which most people think they understand though they… Continue reading What Darwin did

By Eric Mathison

High on the list of unoriginal insults is calling someone or something “gay.” It provides a catchphrase for people who really don’t know what they mean to say and are too ignorant to realize the hollowness of the insult and the bigotry contained in it. Only a couple of short weeks before Barack Obama gave… Continue reading The Church and homosexuality: questions from another age