Kill the Beast

Kill the Beast

Sports, Politics and Entertainment

June 29^th, 2008

Politics

The problems will just have to wait –Fritz Kenwood

The summer of ’08 is in full swing and the Canadian nation is still led by a minority government with Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. Mr. Harper has not done a whole lot in his time as leader of the country. Not that anyone expected him to do anything radical; given their minority position in parliament, Harper’s

Conservatives have little clout when it comes to contentious decisions in the capital. So the country goes on with the tradition of standing still and waiting, essentially, to see what the United States will do.

Regionally, Calgary and the province of Alberta lead Canada in terms of growth and economic prosperity. The exploitation of the Alberta oil sands has put places like Ft. McMurray on the map and more people flock to Wild Rose Country every month. But the boom in Alberta is dependent on the demand for exported oil, and no one is really sure how long a commodity as widely needed as oil can increase in price before the market just doesn’t work anymore. How much will it have to cost to ship a product before it doesn’t make sense to ship it anymore?

While Alberta’s oil boom will last at least another decade, Vancouver and the West Coast are building up to the big show in 2010, when the city, along with tourist town Whistler, hit the stage like Little Miss Sunshine at the beauty pageant. Before then, there are still some serious questions to be answered, such as “will it snow?” and “was it a good idea to widen a highway hanging off a cliff when there are still major transportation issues for the region’s commercial and passenger traffic?” These are tough queries and they are all too likely to come staggering to the forefront when the world shows up to see if Vancouver really is a world class city.

The advantages of the western cities over those in Southern Ontario, Quebec and Eastern Canada are that oil and tourism aren’t going away quickly, or at least not as quickly as the industries in the east. The Maritimes can’t sustain themselves on fish and could use the tourism Vancouver Island enjoys on the Pacific. Montreal and Quebec are in similar condition, as the resource and energy industries in the east dry up. Most significantly, the auto industry is quickly diminishing not only in Southern Ontario, but everywhere in North America.

A unified national plan and a vision for the next decade are needed, but the government is likely to wait until after the American election has determined the fate of the behemoth to the south. Until at least 2009, we can expect to see more of the same political aggrandizement that has come to define Harper’s term in office while each region struggles along in their own separate endeavors.

Sports

CFL Kicks Off, About Time –Chris Alberta

The BC Lions visited the Calgary Stampeders and the Hamilton Ti-Cats hosted the Montreal Alouettes to start the ’08 season of three down football, just a month and half after everyone was ready to watch it. But let’s not dwell on the CFL’s lack of understanding of the Canadian sports market. Instead, let’s dwell on how the Tiger Cats manage to be bad year after year and never show any sign of hope whatsoever. Hamilton was humiliated on their home turf by a beatable squad from Montreal in their season debut. Casey Printers, acquired last season from the Kansas City Chiefs, should have been able to jump start the offense enough to at least contest the outcome, but it looks like another grim season of blow outs in Steeltown.

The Lions lost to the Stamps and got beat up in the process. Slot back Jason Clermont got cracked on several catches, while starting QB Buck Pierce left the game, came back in, left again and is now questionable for next week’s game with a shoulder injury. Jarious Jackson looked unspectacular in a back up roll, while Henry Burris did enough to get Calgary a win against the team who came into the game as the best in Canadian Football.

The Argos surprised everyone by winning in Winnipeg. This is the first year in a long time the Boatmen haven’t had QB Damon Allen in the pocket, but they found a way against the perhaps over rated Bombers who should have done better on their home turf.

To wrap things up, it was the Roughriders and the Eskimos, with the reigning Grey Cup champions mopping the floor with the now sad-sack Edmonton team led by QB Ricky Ray. Since BC is apparently leaderless at the QB Position and the eastern conference is a mess of unproven teams and players, the ‘Riders have a definite opportunity this season to repeat as champions. With a few wins over Calgary and BC, Saskatchewan could gain the status as far and away the best franchise in football north of the border.

Feature

Fenton’s Choice (Part 2 of 4) –Marie Sulford

The next morning we left from Victoria. We had reserved seats. It was all very comfortable as far as I was concerned, but Fenton only pretended to read or doze. He was on edge all the time, I could feel it. He was just as he’d always been, just as hesitant, just as nervy. The blinds went up and were pulled down. The windows were opened and then shut. Fenton became more and more agitated but answered only that he was “alright thank you” when asked how he was feeling.

When we arrived, we had dinner at the Gare de Lyons in the vast restaurant, but even its tremendous Edwardian frescoes failed to distract Fenton at all. “If I had gone to the Argentine”, he said as he thumbed the menu uncertainly, “I would have been more of a person don’t you think? My grandmother has the odd and solitary notions, nothing ever happens there and nobody ever comes.”

“All the more time for your scholarship work,” I answered, “can’t have it both ways.”

“But in the Argentine“, Fenton kept on, “I would have been more of a man of the world by now and be more assured. That’s what I want most of all.”

“You’ll be that all in good time,” I replied.

It was hot that year in Italy. A house stood flat as cardboard in the mid-day sun, a workman repairing a roof under a striped umbrella; while I was looking at him through the carriage window, I suddenly felt Fenton start from his doze. A young man stood in the corridor, picking his teeth and looking intently at Fenton. They were much the same age but he had an arrogance about him that was somehow unpleasant. After a moment he moved softly away.

In Sienna, our hotel stood perched on a slope. It was very old but had a lift. My room was on the fourth floor and Fenton’s on the sixth. The rooms were lofty. You had to lean out of the window to see right down to the narrow streets below. Up across the roof tops the mountains seemed to float in the clouds.

Fenton was a kind companion and sometimes even lost his look of abstraction and nervousness. We worked through Baedecker, but I felt that his uneasiness was affecting me and not my calm affecting him. It rained remorselessly on the sixth day. We sat about in cafes drinking coffee and eating gelati. Then, in the evening, it was fine and warm. Fenton looked into my room to suggest a walk but my knees felt jolted by the steep cobbled alleys. “Why not go by yourself?” I asked. To my surprise, he agreed.

I sat by the open window watching the changing light and I went to bed, without waiting up for him. (To Be Concluded)

Horoscopes

Aries: Go to the beach.

Taurus: Work hard.

Gemini: Make a decision

Cancer: Procrastinate

Leo: Spend your money frivolously

Virgo: Be prudent with expenditures

Libra: Indulge in lust if that’s what you want

Scorpio: Be faithful to yourself and your love even if your body wants carnal pleasure

Sagittarius: Material possession isn’t everything, but it sure is sweet.

Capricorn: Monks are never accused of embarrassing themselves, but they don’t tell jokes either

Aquarius: Advice is arbitrary so take it with a whole packet of salt

Pisces: Take this stuff serious because if you don’t some will come to your house and say “I told you so.”

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