utsu: Nothing unfair about our elections 

As someone who has been on campus for close to twenty years (as a student and now staff), I’ve seen various challenges with the utsu (and sac). Like other political organizations on-campus (e.g. Unions), those in power try to retain power. They do not see this manipulation as “corruption” rather they think they are working the system. I hope that utsu is able to move towards a more transparent approach!

— Ned (from web)

“In spite of calls from opposition members, administrative actions such as withholding fees may not be in the cards, as Scott says that “the University and the union are two separate entities” and in meetings, the administration has indicated that “they are not interested in becoming involved with utsu’s internal structures.”

So Corey thinks that because the University does not want to get involved it doesn’t mean they won’t get involved.

Here’s an eye opener Corey, you’re procedures are fishy and reek of corruption. Even if the University has previously not wanted to get involved, you are still subject to their policies and they can withold your fees if they deem your policies not open, accessible and democratic. It happened at maps.

— Students (from web)

“Nearly one year after receiving a letter detailing Simcoe Hall’s concerns with its handling of elections, the University of Toronto Students’ Union has formally responded…” This has just become a ridiculous war of attrition but in this case, it’s who graduates first. utsu just keeps hoping if they answer late enough, the utsu-opponents of past years will have graduated, or become part time students. Lucky for utsu, they’re executive never leave UofT ever. I saw Sandy Hudson at the last utsu agm and all I could do was sigh.

— Student V. UTSU Round 3782764 (from web)

Finkelstein slams Harper, predicts resolution to Israel-Palestine conflict

We all want peace, and yet, after more than a century of conflict, the struggle between these two related nations remains more intractable than ever. Why?

Because each side is entrenched in its own narrative, to the exclusion of the other’s.

Its faults notwithstanding, one must admit that Israel has taken some steps since the Oslo Accords toward acknowledging the Palestinian suffering. These steps are reflected in school books, in the media, and through other informational outlets. The Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza, for instance, are now referred to as “Palestinians,” and most Israelis would like to see a Palestinian state emerge. The fact that Israeli voters don’t reflect these wishes has to do with fears of surface-to-air missiles two miles from Ben-Gurion International Airport, and scarred memories of blown-up buses and pizzerias.

The Palestinians, unfortunately, have done little to allay Israeli fears. While Palestinians clamor for the removal of onerous checkpoints and barriers, militant attempts to penetrate these barriers and attack Israeli civilians have not ceased at all since the second Intifada. Similarly, school books and speeches, in Arabic, have grown radical, to the point of portraying Israel’s very existence as a crime. Little has been done to acknowledge the Jewish roots in Palestine.

The fact is that the Jewish presence in Palestine goes much farther back than most Palestinians, as well as Arabs and Muslims in general, would be willing to admit…

…Thus, war and bloodshed will continue until the Palestinians start acknowledging the Jewish narrative, and the fact that Jewish roots in Palestine date back thousands of years, long before the Arab invasion.

— Prof. Meqdad Taheri (from web)

I don’t know if going back thousands of years is really fair. Do Zoroastrians also deserve most of what was mesopotamia? I’ll let an ancient historian assess the accuracy of your claims.

Since when does Jewish, or other sorts of mythology entitle people to land? Anyhow, even the most ardent Palestinian supporters that night just wanted the right of return. Finkelstein never denied it to them, but giving it to every refugee overnight would essentially destroy Israel, as he admitted.

Palestinians have little power in that region. What does it matter what they think they’re entitled to? Why not give them what international law would give them and we’ll take it from there?

—Bahram Farzady (from web)

I should point out that “Prof. Meqdad Taheri” is a sock-puppet whose initial post appears word-for-word on various blogs. Clearly a professor of cutting and pasting.

—Tadhg Morris (from web)