This Magazine articles from July 1996

This Magazine archives from July 1996

Kudos for (Augusto) Pinochet.
July 1, 1996... In his native Chile, former dictator Augusto Pinochet may not be spoken of fondly, but in Canada he has achieved a modicum of respectability -- at least in the boardroom. In a recent speech to shareholders, Peter Munk, chief executive of...

This snags awards.
July 1, 1996... It's always hard blowing your own horn. But - well - somebody's got to do it. So, here goes. In May. This Magazine made history for the alternative press in Canada when we won three prizes at the National Magazine Awards. The Awards, held...

Unlikely ally.
July 1, 1996... When nine activists protesting British low-level flights over Innu territory were charged for occupying the British Consulate in Toronto, they didn't expect much sympathy from the courts. Since 1980, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and...

Cashing out: in the investment crazed economy, banks are swiftly pulling out of low-income neighbourhoods.
July 1, 1996... Josephine Grey sits staring into a cup of coffee and tries to remember the last time she was here at the Bakeshop Restaurant in Toronto. The smell of fresh-baked bread and cinnamon fills the air. The room is empty, save for the one counter...

Alternatives to the major banks.
July 1, 1996... The major banks' pullout from low-income neighbourhoods has paved the way for a handful of different financial agencies to serve the needs of the poor - for better and for worse: Money Mart and cheque-cashing services Of the...

Hitting the Wal: as Wal-Mart tries to roll into Guelph, it's hitting its first Canadian roadblock.
July 1, 1996... On the surface, Pawhuska, Oklahoma, and Guelph, Ontario, don't have a lot in common. One is an all but-abandoned town in America's tornado alley. The other, a thriving, middle-class community an hour away from Canada's largest city. But their...

Manufacturing dissent: This Magazine hosts a debate on feminist factions.
July 1, 1996... Who stole feminism? That isn't just a rhetorical question -- it's also the title of one in a recent slew of books questioning the direction of the women's movement. Rethinking feminism has become one of the fastest-growing cottage industries in...

Going for broke: here's a quick way for Canada to get rid of its debt: declare bankruptcy.
July 1, 1996... Ask any capitalist -- bankruptcy is good. Good because it releases underlying assets -- stock, equipment, machine tools, property -- at fire-sale prices to new owners, who may be able to exploit them better than the dolts who just went belly...

Who's Tory now? Neo-cons have been around so long they aren't neo anymore.
July 1, 1996... IT is a sobering thought that this millennium is destined to end, and the new one to begin, with the otherwise great province of Ontario under the influence of the most right-wing government in its history. No more compelling case can be made...

Fallout: privatizing bigger public services would have hidden costs we rarely expect. Just look at Ontario Hydro's nuclear plants.
July 1, 1996... When Ontario Premier Mike Harris announced that the government was considering selling off Ontario Hydro to private interests, supporters touted it as a panacea for the troublesome, debt-ridden service. Selling off Ontario Hydro, its proponents...

Deviant justice: he's raped, served his time, and is coming to a neighbourhood near you.
July 1, 1996... Canada has a sex-offender problem. Stories of mayhem and tragedy appear in the news every week. Dozens of pulpy best sellers profile real-life sexual deviants and killers. The criminal justice system itself can hardly stay out of the headlines,...

Yonge Street is two hundred years old today.
July 1, 1996... Yonge Street is Two Hundred Years Old Today and you can ride the Dianetics elephant at St. Mary Street for free (fifteen seconds per load, a thirty second pause for hay refuel and then it's lead around with a metal claw) or you can just send...

Heat wave V.
July 1, 1996... The green water bottles build up by the door, a meadow of glass cool as an insect eye. You're waiting at the bottom of the stairs, your body boxed by the fragmented windows. Come up, come up - slowly I say. I watch your knees...

Cold snap I.
July 1, 1996... Such a long summer - it went on until fall came like a breath being let out. I myself turned blue from being alone, all that heat and nothingness, turning around in bed like it was an ocean. I dreamed of you, and...

Ideas in action: the work of art.
July 1, 1996... Right from the start, the artist C.J. FLEURY was convinced that the unusual residency project would work. The City of Ottawa needed a new Buildings and Equipment facility -- a new garage and workshop for its engineers, mechaniscs and...

Urban Indian.
July 1, 1996... I WAS VISITING my mother on the Reserve when it hit me. I had been out for a country walk in the quiet evening air when I noticed something I hadn't seen since last year: a single, tiny, mosquito. And as is the mosquito mentality, within an...