Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph - April 12, 2018

This week's Open Sources Guelph is all about the hard questions. Not that we're known for the soft balls, of course, but take Syria for example, what are the options in dealing with this conflict that's now been churning for more than seven years? Or pipelines, how do you balance the environmental concerns with the economic prospects, or can you? There's also predatory payday loans, and the greatest enigma of all, the man called Douglas Ford Jr.?
This Thursday, April 12, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Again. It was about this time last year that Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against civilians, and it looks like he did it again last weekend. The reaction last year was worldwide condemnation, and a government airfield in Syria attacked by missile fire, but the message was clear to al-Assad: there are really no consequences for your war crimes. This time, the attack comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump wondered aloud about pulling support out of Syria, and after reps from Syria, Russia and Iran met to plan the future of the country. Can there ever be any consequences for al-Assad, and any relief for the people of Syria?
2) Kinder, Not Gentle. Despite a protest that rounded up nearly 200 people including two federal MPs, work on the Trans Mountain Pipeline carried on unabated last month, but for how much longer? The pipeline's owner, Kinder Morgan, is putting the breaks on any further development until the complicated politics are sorted out, and they have even threatened to pull out of the project entirely if they don't see a path forward. This puts the governments of Alberta, B.C. and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a bind since the pipeline means jobs and revenue, but there's still a lot of opposition to the project. So how will this all shake out?
3) Cheque Comes Due? The City of Toronto is joining a chorus of Ontario cities that are considering measures to reign in payday lenders. Many consider these establishments predatory, lending money to the people most in need for interest payments that mean you're never off the hook for getting an advance on your paycheque. Meanwhile, others consider them a necessary evil, doing short term loans too small for most banks, or lending to people those same banks would consider too big a risk. So is it about time that regulations fall on payday lenders, or is this another example of government over-regulation?
4) What About Doug? It looks like Ontario PC leader Doug Ford is going to do the absolute minimum he can to secure his victory as the next Premier of Ontario. Last week, he cited scheduling conflicts when asked to take part in a leaders debate, and then he announced that there would be no campaign bus for the press during the election. Meanwhile, Doug is distancing himself from Tanya Granic Allen, and the social conservative base she represents, and it looks like the #MeToo movement is not done with the PC Party yet. Still, in spite of all that, we wonder just how this show, and other media outlets, are supposed to cover Doug Ford?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - April 11, 2018

This week on End Credits, we go from virtual reality to something like a reality. Can you make a movie on an iPhone? Tangerine proved you can, but now a certified auteur like Steven Soderbergh is getting in on the act. Not bad for a guy that said he was quitting movies, and has released two in the 10 months this show's been in existence. We'll talk about the works of Soderbergh, and we'll talk about his latest work, the thriller Unsane.
This Wednesday, April 11, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Vince Masson will discuss:
1) The Other Steven S. Last week, we parsed the filmography of Steven Spielberg, and talked about some our favourites, and this week, we talk about the other famous director with the initials "S.S." Of course, there are a lot of differences between Spielberg and Soderbergh as filmmakers, Spielberg is much more commercial, even when he's aiming for seriousness, while Soderbergh seems only ever commercial accidentally. He's also a filmmaker willing to take a chance and experiment, and he does so again with our review this week, which is...
REVIEW: Unsane (2018). The novelty of Unsane is that it was shot on an iPhone 7, but the greater novelty of Unsane might be that this is Soderbergh's spin on the horror genre. Taking place mostly in a mental health hospital, our heroine Sawyer (played by The Crown's Claire Foy) must deal with a corrupt system that's entrapped her with the man that stalked her from her old life to her new one. Is Unsane the paranoid thriller of our time, or is it technically an experimental slasher film trying to sell your smart phone as a necessary filmmaking tool?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #119 - Move Out Madness

It's April, and you know what that means! No, we've already had Easter. And April Fools' Day. Sure, Earth Day is next weekend, but we're here today to talk about Move Out Madness, the annual scramble by University of Guelph to pack up their Guelph lives and head home for summer jobs or vacations. This is easier said than done.
The picture above is from the film Diverted: A Story About Modern Day Treasure Hunting and Second Chances, in which first-time director Kalev Jason chronicles the collection, reclamation, and donation of things he collected from bags in that very same dumpster pictured above. The documentary follows Jason as he sorts bag after bag of unopened food, clean and wearable clothing, useful and functioning kitchen gadgets, and even some pricey video game accessories.
The treasure Jason found underlines a problem with the Move Out Madness process, and undermines the Green acumen of both the City and the University of Guelph. It's hard to argue you're environmentally friendly when every April our garbage bins are filled with clothing that can be given to goodwill, food that can find its way to the food bank, or furniture that next year's class of students might be able to get some use of. The City seems to shut down for Move In Day, could there not be a Move Out equivalent?
Not so fast, because there are some difficult logistics that go along with that. To talk about those, Student Life officials Kathryn Hofer and Matthew Gysbers talk about the coordination done to try and get students out of town as smoothly as possible, the challenges in trying to do so much in such a short stretch of time, the time crunch for students who are all on different schedules according to when their exams are done and when they have to move out, and the limits of storage. Hofer and Gysbers will add the context before we dig in about dumpster diving with Jason.
So let's get ready to move out madly on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can watch Diverted: A Story About Modern Day Treasure Hunting and Second Chances, right now by clicking this link and watching it on Vimeo. Meanwhile, if you're a student moving out and are looking for a way to not send your Guelph life to a landfill, you can visit Student Life online by clicking here.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - April 5, 2018

This week's episode of Open Sources Guelph is a chorus of abuse. The Government of Ontario is abusing deficit spending by making some big spending promises. The Pope is trying to avoid having to apologize for the abuses of his Church on Canada's First Nations people. A U.S. broadcaster is abusing the trust of the people by reaching for fake news talking points. And animal abuse activists are taking out their frustrations with a Toronto restaurant. This one's going hurt...
This Thursday, April 5, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Mo' Money! In their final budget before the election (perhaps ever), the Ontario government under Kathleen Wynne launched a high stakes bid to convince voters to give them another turn at the helm of provincial government by offering the electorate everything but the kitchen sink (that will be an official election promise). From dental care, to childcare, to mental health, to home care, to social assistance, to even help for Sears employees who had their pensions burned when the company went bankrupt, there's literally something for everyone. Is this enough to get the Liberals over the hump, and what do the PCs and NDP do now?
2) No Apologies. In a surprise move, Pope Francis and the Vatican announced that there would be no apology issued to Canada's Indigenous peoples for the abuses and indignities suffered at residential schools, many of which were run by the Catholic Church. An apology from the pope was one of the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and while Francis hasn't ruled out a trip to Canada and a personal meeting with First Nations people, how can people accept the contrition of the Church and their desire to move forward without hearing them accept responsibility for past atrocities?
3) Broadcast Ooze. It took a while, but it now seems there's widespread concern about the intentions of Sinclair Broadcast, which already owns over 170 local TV stations in the U.S. and is looking to buy a few hundred more. Over the weekend, a viral video captured the concerns of people worried about losing a free and independent media, a mash-up of local anchors all repeating the same Trumpian sounding talking points. And before you say that can't happen here, TorStars Metro papers launched a rebranding effort with an editorial that did more or less the same thing. We'll talk about the dangers of media consolidation on both sides of the border.
4) The Deer Hunter Hunters. Where do you go in Toronto for a good slice of deer? If you said Antler, you might be at the centre of controversial series of protests right now as vegans have descended on the Dundas Street establishment to protest animal rights. Things escalated, and got more media attention, when the owner of the restaurant cut up a leg of meat at the restaurant's window in full view of the protestors, which only riled up anti-meat demonstrators more. But why are these people turning their ire towards a small, boutique establishment that makes an effort to get their supply from sustainable sources?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - April 4, 2018

This week on End Credits it's all Spielberg, all the time! At least for the one hour our show's on the air. We're reviewing the latest film from Steven Spielberg, Ready Player One, which exists in no small part because of the work of one, Steven Spielberg. So to cue up this week's review, we will look at the very lengthy, and very accomplished filmography of Spielberg, and try and find not just the big gold nuggets, but some smaller gold nuggets that are just as good.
This Wednesday, April 4, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
1) The Other Spielbergs. Look, it's hard to argue with the success of Steven Spielberg. His movies are not just hits, but genre-defining, culturally-important blockbusters that informed our lives, filmmaking, and pop culture as we know it! This week, to begin the show, we talk about the best of Spielberg, but not, like, the best, best. Leaving aside the classics like Jaws, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which are universally seen as great, so we look at some of Spielberg's lesser appreciated classics, and talk about the Beard's accomplishments beyond killer sharks, and friendly aliens.
REVIEW: Ready Player One (2018). In the future, there will be no work, no school, no reason to leave the graveyard of entombed panel vans and Winnebagos you live in because there's always the OASIS, a virtual reality where you can do anything, including be hopelessly addicted to the pop culture of the late 20th century. Part furious adulation of 80s life, part post-apocalyptic dystopia, part loose Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake and (small) part social commentary, only a man who near single handedly built modern pop culture could keep all the demands of the original novel straight. But does Steven Spielberg succeed?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

Open Sources Guelph - March 29, 2018

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we download the data, which is a dangerous business these days. We will dedicate a segment to all the computer stuff going on and why it's a danger to our privacy and our democracy, and then we will talk about the Canadian angle, and why the Federal Liberals seem to be doing nothing about it. On the back half, we talk about MPs taking action, and getting into some legal hot water over it, and we talk about whether or not high school juniors and seniors really are too young to vote.
This Thursday, March 29, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Bad Data. The revelation last week that Cambridge Analytica was able to use ill-gotten Facebook data to target ads on behalf of the Republican Presidential campaign in 2016. Cambridge Analytica was already under the watchful eye of the special counsel investigating Russian interference, in no small part because the company is owned by former Trump advisor Steve Bannon and Trump campaign funder Robert Mercer. Meanwhile, another company, the Canadian-owned AggregateIQ, seemed to be involved with some shady funding when it came to the "Leave" campaign during the Brexit vote. So how can we trust our data isn't being used for nefarious purposes? And who's controlling the flow of information?
2) Canada Content. Did you know it's been 15 months since Canada had a permanent Chief Electoral Officer? It's no big deal, there's only something like 18 months before the next Federal election, and it's not like Canada will likely be the subject to another of Russia's attempts at disruption. Except it's a lot like that. Security agencies all say that Canada will not be exempt from Vladimir Putin's efforts to sew global discord though fake news, fake outrage, and all the nefarious tools in his kit. So what is the Government of Canada doing about it? For that matter, where is the government on any of the changes they promised to secure polls and create a more democratic process in future elections?
3) The Green Knight. Nearly 200 people were arrested last week while protesting at the Burnaby Terminal of the soon-to-be expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline, including Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May. The heat on the pipeline debate has been turned way up in the last couple of months after the election of the NDP government in B.C., who are backed by the B.C. Green Party who are, obviously, very anti-pipeline. We've already seen a build-up of tension between the Alberta and B.C. governments, and now it seems that civil disobedience is increasing in response. How long can the federal government sit on the fence while MPs are being arrested?
4) 16 Up. One of the interesting developments following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida has been the decisive and pointed leadership of the student survivors, almost all of whom are presently ineligible to vote right now. The new political activeness of young people has prompted an examination of our voting rules, specifically the voting age, which currently sits at 18. Ontario MPP Arthur Potts has floated a private members bill to lower the voting age in Ontario to 16, but is there enough support in the legislature to make it happen? Are people still hopelessly hung up on the idea that while 16 is old enough to drive, it's not old enough to go into a voting booth and choose a government?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - March 28, 2018

This week on End Credits, we deal with the culture clash, and not just one culture clash, but many culture clashes. We got Hollywood wanting Chinese cash clashing with China wanting to keep their own cash. We've got a very famous director clashing with the changing face of the movie business. And we've got time clashing with the fact we're getting older. Most importantly, our movie of the week might be clashing with itself, not to mention the dreaded "A" word considering our woke time when we talk about culture.
This Wednesday, March 28, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
1) Chinese Take-over. Pacific Rim: Uprising opened in theatres everywhere last weekend, a movie that would not exist if it hadn't been a bigger hit in China than North America. China's money has been a big incentive for a lot of Hollywood's decision making in the last couple of years, but to what effect? In order to appeal to the Chinese market, movies have had to focus on bigger action, bigger explosions, and less character, but now it seems like even China's getting sick of Hollywood's games and is making their own hits (Wolf Warrior 2 for example). So what's next for Chinese/Hollywood relations?
2) The Director Approach. Steven Spielberg's got a new movie coming out (more on that next week), which means the usual pre-release interviews and hot takes. For Spielberg, that means calling a moratorium on digitally altering his movies (like he did with E.T. in 2002), and then he screwed up by suggesting that movies released on Netflix should not be eligible for Oscars. There's something to be said about Netflix policy of a proforma release of their movies in a few theatres to make them awards eligible, but Netflix buys movies meant for big screen release like Mudbound, as well as funding their own flicks like Bright. So is Spielberg right or wrong?
3) Betelgeuse at 30. Yes, this Thursday it will have been exactly three decades since the release of Tim Burton's second movie about a bio-exorcist and the young dead couple that reach out to him to clear their house of some annoying yuppies. (Kids, ask you parents about yuppies!) Revisiting the film, it's funny how you used to be able to push the envelope so far with a simple PG rating, and it's fun to see the early work of people like Michael Keaton and Alec Baldwin, but here's a big question: What happened to the zany, creative Tim Burton that made Beetlejuice?
REVIEW: Isle of Dogs (2018). Director Wes Anderson returns to stop-motion animation to have free reign in a world where all dogs from Japan are rounded up and exiled to Trash Island, and everyone's cool with that except one boy who risks it all to save his beloved protector, Spots. Sounds cute, doesn't it? Except Anderson may have opened up a can of worms called "cultural appropriation", critics saying that Anderson is co-opting Japanese culture for no real reason and in a stereotypical way. It makes you wonder if Isle of Dogs, a sterling example of Anderson's quirk and creativity, can escape the perhaps unintended implications of its setting and story?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #118 - Mapping the Ward, An Update

The Ward. It's so ubiquitous to the city that you don't even need to identify it by its full name. It's just the Ward. In the (not literal) shadow of downtown, the Ward is one of the oldest parts of Guelph, and it's seen a lot of changes over the decades, but perhaps none so pronounced as what's happening now. The question: might there be some resentment about that from long-time residents?
This question was brought to the forefront a few weeks ago when a group called only "We Are the Ungovernable" engaged in Black Block-inspired rioting and property damage along Locke Street in Hamilton. This area of "The Hammer" was a working class neighbourhood that's since been gentrified with lots of new shoppes and residents, but that also means a lot of the people that used to live there were priced out.
As the media shook down the anarchist book fair looking for bad guys, it was remember that there had been months of rumblings about discontent in the area that showed there was friction along the socio-economic divide, and this is not something unique to Hamilton.
The Ward is an area that's seeing a lot of these changes too. Condo developments are springing up all over, and often in the places that carry some historical or cultural significance to the neighbourhood. Think of the Biltmore development, which borrows its name from the famous Guelph hat company, or Metalworks, which has incorporated the footprint of the old Woods building. Might there be any resentment in the Ward about the changing character of the area?
Our two experts this week say, "Not really," but these are interesting times for the Ward and its residents, and that was worth exploring. Annie Dunning and Janet Morton didn't write the book on the Ward, but they did put it all together. They completed their book, Mapping the Ward, in 2015, but the changes have continued, and are continuing, so it seemed like a good time to talk to the pair about Ward life, how people in the Ward are feeling about the changes they're seeing, and whether or not issues of gentrification and redevelopment might be an election issue.
So let's rap about Mapping the Ward on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
Unfortunately, copies of Mapping the Ward are hard to come by, but you can inquire with the publisher, PS Guelph, about your chances of procuring one either on Facebook, or on their Shopify page. You can learn how Mapping the Ward came together by reading this article from September 2015 on the Guelph Mercury website.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - March 22, 2018

It's another journey around the world on this week's edition of Open Sources Guelph. Obviously, we start out in Ontario where Premier Kathleen Wynne tried to reset the clock, not to mention the agenda. Meanwhile, in Ottawa, the new NDP leader is dealing with his first big controversy, but will he have time to reset the clock before his next election? Speaking of elections, Putin won his, and Trump couldn't be happier! And, to wrap up, we'll talk about Canada putting a toe back into peacekeeping. 
This Thursday, March 22, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Game of Throne Speech. It's not often that the business of government stops a couple of weeks before an election in order to hold a Speech from the Throne, but Premier Kathleen Wynne seems to be pulling out all the stops for this campaign! The throne speech promised more hospital funding, more home care funding, more funding for psychology and addiction programs, expanded OSAP benefits, and an expansion of dental and pharmacare benefits (the later of which not coincidentally promised two days earlier by the NDP). But can the Liberals sudden generosity and political theatrics stop a coming blue wave and the arrival of a new Ford Nation?
2) Down Singh. In what's become the biggest test so far for new NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, he seems unable to escape questions about his feelings about, and interactions with, Sikh separatists. In fact, there hasn't been this much talk about separatism in Federal Politics since they passed the Clarity Act! But seriously, the meter on this issue has moved from the slightly racist tinge of a question from CBC's Terry Milewski, to a Globe and Mail report on a video that showed Singh an even supporting Sikh separation. So does Singh have anything to be defensive about, and does this so-called controversy hurt his political chances?
3) Russian Stressing. In one of the least surprising election results in modern political history, Vladimir Putin was re-elected as tyrant president of Russia. It was a foregone conclusion because Putin had already effectively sidelined anyone that could put up a plausible opposition, and if that wasn't enough, he seemed to have people actually stuffing the ballot boxes on his behalf. (No, really, there's video.) In the meantime, the noose tightened around Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election with new revelations about the role of Cambridge Analytica, while Trump called and congratulated Putin on his sham victory even though everyone on his national security told him not to! So now what on the Russia file?
4) Mali Coddle. After years of promises and investigations, the Government of Canada has decided to re-invest itself in peacekeeping by sending troops to Mali, an African country undergoing a vicious civil war. Canadian Forces will be providing logistical and medical support in the form of a helicopter air rescue and about 250 soldiers in all. So why so controversial? Well, it's been years since Canada has undertaken a peacekeeping mission, and no matter where Canada is in the country, we're talking about Islamic extremists, child soldiers, and all sorts of other traps that could lead to tragedy. Is this the right mission at the right time for Canada?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - March 21, 2018

Welcome to the future! End Credits this week talks about an exciting new area of intellectual property, or I.P., that will form the basis of Hollywood franchises of tomorrow: video games! Hilariously, despite the widespread popularity of video games - as evidenced by the fact that the industry makes twice as much money as all the movies at the box office - Hollywood has yet to find a way to adapt the material. This week on the show, we take a closer look...
This Wednesday, March 21, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
1) Gamer Fate. Hollywood has been trying to crack the code for movies based on video games for 25 years, and has enjoyed little success. From Super Mario Bros. to Assassin's Creed, the history of video game-based movies has been one of many bombs, and very little in the way of success (and Resident Evil doesn't count because name five people you know that love it). But there are a few gems, and more importantly there are many movies that owe more than a sense of inspiration to video games. We offer 10 different titles worth checking out.
REVIEW: Tomb Raider (2018). Speaking of video game movies, we review this week the first video game movie remake. Taking its cue from the rebooted game series, the new Tomb Raider casts Alicia Vikander as a young, pre-Tomb Raiding Lara Croft who, while working as a bike courier in London, is forced to finally confront her father's last voyage and the mysteries that drove him to a lost island off the coast of Japan including the dangers there in. Can Vikander's Croft learn how to raid tombs in order to save the world? And, more importantly, is this new Croft franchise ready?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.