Archive - Sep 12, 2003

"Black Creek Pioneer Village", by Heather Meek

On August 15th, 50 million people in the United States and Ontario found themselves in the dark, but many argue that North Americans have been 'in the dark' about the global context of their energy consumption for far too long. The 'biggest blackout in history' can shed some light on the inequalities of global energy consumption. The course that policy makers chart in the future must stretch beyond blackouts to looming problems that face all societies across the globe.

- by Yuill Herbert -

Yes, you read the headline correctly, and no, I can't believe it either, but apparently scientists have invented a brain machine that dramatically enhances musical performance, thus paving the way for a new race of highly skilled super-musicians. According to the BBC, "the system - called neurofeedback - trains musicians to clear their minds and produce more creative brain waves. Research, to be published in the journal Neuroreport, indicates the technique helps musicians to improve by an average of 17%...

-by Matt Brennan -

Under NAFTA, Mexican farmers move from ejido to foreign finca*

On the same day that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force, January 1, 1994, a group of Mexican peasants marched out of the mountains and the jungles and directly into the media spotlight. At the time, President Carlos Salinas was celebrating Mexico's new status as a "first world" nation and basking in the glory of his own sudden prominence as a major world leader alongside United States President Reagan and Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney. It was only the peasants who recognized NAFTA for the disaster that it was destined to be, and said !Basta!, - enough is enough.

- by Paul Harris -