Who is Kurt Vile? I’ve been a fan of his music for a several years now, but his persona preserves some kind of mystical ambiguity in my head. The videos I’ve watched on YouTube and interviews I’ve read paint an incomplete picture of the singer/songwriter. Here is this reserved, lurchy, and awkward fella with outrageously long, curly hair—you instinctively want to write him off because there is no...
A bi-weekly roundup of legal television Midterm Grades (according to the Osgoode Bell Curve): Law and Order: SVU – C+ How To Get Away With Murder – B The Grinder – B The Good Wife – A Welcome to TV L Rev. A bi-weekly look at legal television. This edition looks at how the shows have been done with nearly a full semester under their belt. Overall, it’s been a fairly mediocre crop. Minor spoilers...
When Rape Mythology Invades Judicial Reasons Justice Robin Camp is the latest example of the pernicious effects of rape mythology in the courtroom. His trial decision in the recent sexual assault case R. v. Wagar is replete with irrational and antiquated notions bereft of moral authority. The complainant, who was by all accounts incapable of giving consent, testified that she had repeatedly said...
THE OLD BOND IS BACK FOR BETTER OR WORSE After the immense success and critical acclaim of Skyfall, it was almost inevitable that the subsequent Bond movie would fall short of many moviegoer’s heightened expectations. Unfortunately— thanks to a combination of questionable writing and an incredibly far-fetched plot—Spectre would not only do just that, but fall even further. Spectre starts off...
The Paris Attacks and the Western Media’s Response When tragedies, like the recent terrorist shooting in Paris, France occur the world seems to pause in shock. Articles from online news sources, as well as national tabloids and television programs begin broadcasting ‘breaking live news’ coverage of the scene that continues for hours after the event has ceased. Social media networks are...
My Thoughts From the Innovation and Access to Justice Conference I did it! I finally made it to my first university-related conference that was held somewhere other than my own school! This past summer, while working as a research assistant with the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ) at Osgoode, I heard about the inaugural Innovation and Access to Justice Conference planned for October 2015...
Warning: Recent Changes to Facebook Privacy Settings May Have Made Your Old Posts Public Social media can be a powerful tool, but it also can be like that ex you keep going back to but you know you shouldn’t. For example, on those days when you have an essay to write, exams to study for, a laundry list of things to do, and you have spent hours on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. In...
Concert Review: Blind Guardian plays The Danforth There are always dangers in revisiting your old favourites. I hadn’t seen Blind Guardian in almost a decade, not since their 2006 A Twist in the Myth album tour. The German power metal group was my favourite band during my formative years, but I was a different person now, living in a different city with different friends, different tastes...
A ranking of some Liberal campaign promises Justin Trudeau will have been sworn in as the twenty-third prime minister on 4 November, so it’s probably a good time to stop staring into his sweltering gaze and take a look at some of the Liberal campaign promises made throughout that extra-long campaign. Were the promises sincere, or simply cheap talk in an attempt to win an election? Although I have...
How the Curve Bleaches Out Intellectual Diversity and Entrenches Class Structure “In the wild struggle for existence,” writes Oscar Wilde, “we want to have something that endures, and so we fill our minds with rubbish and facts, in the silly hope of keeping our place.” The Picture of Dorian Gray was not intended as a commentary on the pursuit of legal education; yet it furnishes, albeit...
High-profile lawyer Philippe Sands QC suggests current scientific evidence on climate change goes well beyond the standard burden of legal proof, while speaking to an audience of revered judges and lawyers at an international law and climate change conference in London this September. “One of the most important things an International Court could do in my view, it is probably the single most...
From Out-laws to In-laws Every year, thousands of hopeful applicants submit personal statements describing who they hope to be and what they hope to accomplish with a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School. As someone whose interest in the law stemmed from a desire to better understand the related fields of public policy and governance, Osgoode made sense. But as I moved through first and second year, I...
A Comparison of the 2015 Team With Its 1992 Predecessor Part Four: Examining the Starting Pitching: Middle of the Rotation As much as “Chicks Dig The Long Ball,” the iconic tagline made famous by the Nike commercial featuring Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Mark McGwire back in 1998, there is a general consensus in baseball: pitching and defence win championships. In fact, pitching is...
Philadelphia’s Transformative Mural Arts Program For thousands of years, humanity has expressed themselves by creating imagery on walls, whether on caves, under bridges, or the sides of buildings. Graffiti ranges from simple written words, to elaborate paintings. Opinions remain varied on what is graffiti and what is art, with a struggle between the two. Before the explosion of street...
I always enjoy a good storyline coming into a sporting event. I think a lot of people do. It adds to the hype. It raises the stakes. It gives you another reason to root for this person or that team, if you so choose. In non-team sports, like boxing or mixed martial arts (MMA), spectators often identify a little more with one of the competitors over the other. Instead of focusing on their acumen...
Environmental Sustainability in the Sustainable Development Goals International discussions on environmental sustainability has increased since the unanimous passing of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September. Given the SDG’s broad approach to addressing the connection between international development and the environment, countries are looking for opportunities to discuss realistic...
A woman’s place is the lab A woman’s place is dissecting a cadaver on a slab A woman’s place is as a statistician A woman’s place is as a master musician A woman’s place is operating a forklift or a crane A woman’s place is on higher spiritual plains A woman’s place is as a chemist, creating potions A woman’s place is in a clinic, providing free and safe abortions A woman’s place is as a...
Using TPM Protections to Label Consumers as Thieves The first battle cry was heard this past summer when Bell Media president Mary Ann Turcke announced that “it has to become socially unacceptable to admit to another human being that you are VPNing into U.S. Netflix.” And with that bold proclamation, a gauntlet had been thrown down and Big Media had declared war on those who it deemed to be...
Everyday Legal Problems Survey In order to explore the nature and extent of self-reported legal problems by Canadian adults eighteen years of age and older, the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ), located at Osgoode Hall Law School, conducted a national legal problems survey. The logic underlying the decision to pursue this research is that a legal problem does not begin when first contact is...
The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ) at Osgoode Hall Law School has been dedicated to access to justice research and advocacy since it first opened its doors seventeen years ago. In keeping with this mandate, CFCJ Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Albert Currie, recently released an evaluation report on the Halton Community Legal Services’ (HCLS) Legal Health Check-Up (LHC) pilot project; an...
CANADA ELECTS TRUDEAU Today is a historic day for Canada, ourselves, and the world. Yes, the release of the new Star Wars trailer will most certainly be marked in history second only to the release of the movie itself. However, a “secondary” piece of news occurred yesterday which does demand a bit of attention, at least until 18 December 2015. As it turns out, Canada has a new Prime Minister...
Many People Are Unknowingly Being Exposed to Antibiotics A new study published in the Lancet on 16 October estimates that as many as half of infections after surgery and more than a quarter of infections after chemotherapy are caused by organisms already resistant to standard antibiotics. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also stated that antibiotic resistance trends pose threats to...
When is a War Crime not a War Crime? On 15 October, international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)—better known in the English-speaking world as Doctors Without Borders—launched a petition to encourage the United States to consent to an independent investigation into the American bombing of a hospital in Afghanistan. On 3 October, American airstrikes targeted the...
In law school, there is no shortage of attention dedicated to the problems with the legal system. There are students, lawyers, and faculty working on access to justice, legal innovation, legal system reform, and legal aid projects. Ample opportunities exist to hear speakers, engage in workshops, and participate in conferences all aimed at improving the legal system. And yet, despite all these...
by the Osgoode Health Law Association There are many opportunities at Osgoode Hall to learn about health law, including coursework, clubs, and volunteer experiences. Below is a summary prepared by Osgoode’s Health Law Association. Courses Legal Governance of Health Care (4 credits) Disability & the Law (3 credits) Patents (3 credits) Administrative Law (4 credits) Health Law (3 credits) Law...