Daily Archives: May 3, 2022

Indians, Native Americans, American Indians are all labels foisted upon the indigenous people of America and so what is a newspaper to do when selecting the supposed correct label?

In his book The Day the World Ended at Little Big Horn, Joseph M. Marshall III reviewed all of these labels and then wrote, "We prefer to be identified by our specific tribes or nations, of which there are nearly five hundred ethnically identifiable in the United States."

He goes on, "However, in the interest of avoiding confusion within the pages of this work, I have chosen to used the word Indian mostly in those instances when there is a necessary reference to more than a specific tribe or native nation."

And so in this era of political correctness even the great Sicangu author, Joe Marshall, has to admit that he is also faced with this recurring dilemma. Any writer covering issues related to events and people associated with Indian country faces this same question and must decide whether to follow political correctness or go along with historic usage.

If one visits an Indian reservation (there's that word Indian again) and speaks to the elders of the tribe, he or she will find that they refer to themselves as "Indian," without reservation (no pun intended).

I am a firm believer that most historians are wrong when they credit Christopher Columbus for coining the word "Indian" because he thought he was landing his ships in India. In 1492 there was no country known as India. Instead that country was called Hindustan. I think that is closer to the truth that the Spanish padre that sailed with Columbus was so impressed with the innocence of the Natives he observed that he called them Los Ninos in Dios. My spelling may be wrong on the Spanish words, but the description by the padre means something like "Children of God."

After many years of usage the word Indios emerged and to this day the indigenous people of South and Central America are called Indios. I am told that as the word wound its way North it evolved into "Indian." Of course some will say that there was a place called the East Indies in 1492 and Columbus may have thought he was headed for that region.

So how and when did the efforts to politicize the name start? I suspect that some of it started when Native Americans enrolled in some of the white colleges. I think they found the word "Indian" offensive and set about to remake it. They found that the word Indian was often used in a derogatory fashion such as "drunken Indian" or "rotten Indian." Perhaps the white people would have found it more difficult to say "drunken Native American?"

And finally, when some Indian journalists made it to the newsrooms of large and prestigious mainstream newspapers, they reacted to the word "Indian" as they did when they were in college. They went to their editors and tried to impress upon them that the paper should no longer use the word "Indian," but should, instead, switch to Native American or Native.

I first ran across this sudden change when I was mailed a copy of my weekly column that had appeared in the Lincoln (Neb.) Star Journal. In every place I had used "Indian" the editorial page editor edited it to read "Native." Of course I was appalled. If I had intended to use "Native" I would have used it and I resented the fact that the EPE had changed the word in order to fit his presumption of political correctness.

I immediately dropped him a note and asked, "When you come across organizational names like National Congress of American Indians or National Indian Education Association are you going to change them to read National Congress of Native Americans or National Native Education Association."

How about newspapers like "Indian Country Today," my former weekly paper? "Native American Country Today" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

The local daily newspaper in Rapid City, SD decided to drop the use of the word "Indian" and replace it with "Native American." I believe they did so when they, with unintended fanfare, used a headline that highlighted the word "Indian" when describing the new education director for the Rapid City Schools. A howl went up in the Indian community, but the howl was less about political correctness than about the bad usage of the name in that particular context. I believe it is a policy that needs to be reconsidered because anyone born in the United States of America is a Native American, but they are not American Indians.

Politically correct labels have been applied to other races in the past and since Indians are always the last to be labeled for anything, I suppose our time has come.

(Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, was born, raised and educated on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in the Class of 1991 and founder of The Lakota Times and Indian Country Today newspapers. He founded and was the first president of the Native American Journalists Association. He can be reached at najournalist@msn.com)

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The Name "Indian" and Political Correctness | HuffPost ...

1994 American comedy film

PCU is a 1994 American comedy film written by Adam Leff and Zak Penn and directed by Hart Bochner about college life at the fictional Port Chester University, and represents "an exaggerated view of contemporary college life".[3] The film is based on the experiences of Leff and Penn at Eclectic Society at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.

Preppy pre-freshman (pre-frosh) Tom Lawrence visits Port Chester University (PCU), a college where fraternities have been outlawed and political correctness is rampant on campus. During his visit, accident-prone Tom manages to make enemies with nearly every group of students, and thus spends much of his visit evading the growing mob upset with him.

During his visit, Tom also finds himself in the middle of a war between "The Pit" and "Balls and Shaft", two rival groups. Among the members of the latter is Rand McPherson, who, with the other Balls and Shaft members, want the outlawed Greek system to return. Meanwhile, "The Pit", an unofficial group, runs the former "Balls and Shaft" frat house in a highly disorganized manner. Currently inhabited by seniors Gutter and Mullaney, mid-year Freshman co-ed Katy, and led by multi-year senior James "Droz" Andrews, The Pit is a party-centric house that rebels against the politically correct protests; their counter-protests and parties are a frequent source of complaint forms.

Other factions on campus include a commune-style house of pot users called Jerrytown that Gutter often frequents, a radical feminist group known as the Womynists, an Afrocentric group suspecting the Pit of conspiring against them, and the college president, Ms. Garcia-Thompson, who is obsessed with enforcing "sensitivity awareness" and multiculturalism to an extreme. She proposes that Bisexual Asian Studies should have its own building, as well as a plan to change the campus mascot to a whooping crane instead of an offensive Native American character during their Bicentennial Anniversary. Garcia-Thompson conspires behind closed doors with Balls and Shaft to get the established residents of The Pit kicked off campus and give Rand control of the house. She provokes the Pit residents with a damage bill from their past semester. Left unpaid, the campus would seize their house, leaving them homeless and unable to continue attendance at PCU without getting jobs.

The Pit responds by throwing a party to raise the funds needed. The Womynists take offense to The Pit's flyers advertising the party, and hold a protest outside as the house residents conspire to steal alcohol and convince students to attend. The party at first appears to be a failure. However, a series of unlikely events results in George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic performing at the party. Students begin streaming in (initially to seize Tom for his prior mistakes) and the party successfully raises the funds to keep the house. Garcia-Thompson (after being locked in a room by Droz with the song "Afternoon Delight" playing on repeat), deciding to act on the many complaints against The Pit, shuts down the party and expels the residents of The Pit in spite of their fundraising efforts. Tom then informs Droz about an overheard conversation with the Board of Trustees: the President's politically correct changes are negatively affecting both their past legacy and media publicity.

At the bicentennial ceremony the following morning, Droz and former Pit residents succeed in liberating the Whooping Crane and provoking the other students into an impromptu protest against protesting (chanting "We're not gonna protest!"). The demonstration establishes that even with The Pit shut down, the President cannot control the student population, resulting in the Board of Trustees summarily firing her. Meanwhile, Rand complains about all the other student groups, unaware that Droz has surreptitiously used the podium microphone to broadcast his rant to the entire campus.

Later, Tom heads home having decided to commit to PCU as the Pit has moved back into their house. As he sits on the bus, he sees Rand, who is now in Tom's position at the beginning of the film: being chased by the students across campus.

Principal photography took place almost entirely in and around Toronto with the University of Toronto serving as Port Chester University. Some limited second unit shots were shot on the Wesleyan campus.[5]

Jeremy Piven complains in the DVD audio commentary that actors were not allowed by the director to improvise at all. He was able to include some limited improvisation by appealing to the writers directly. Production schedules were challenged when Piven, who is active in anti-malaria charities, contracted malaria on a trip to Guatemala which affected him while filming.[6]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 44% based on reviews from 16 critics.[7] On Metacritic the film has a score of 42% based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

Roger Ebert said the film "begins with a terrific premise, but immediately loses faith in it."[9]It has also been ranked among the ten best college movies by The Huffington Post.[10]

With a budget of $8 million, it grossed $2,129,483 on opening weekend contributing to a final domestic total of $4,330,020.[2]

The soundtrack, released on May 10, 1994 by Fox / Arista, features songs from the feature film.[11] Steve Vai wrote the score for the movie, which he would later release on his compilation album The Elusive Light and Sound, Vol. 1. The album is notable for the Mudhoney's cover of Pump It Up.

Original post:

PCU (film) - Wikipedia

Every American should read 1984. Written just after WWII, this chilling dystopia predicts with stunning accuracy what happens when free speech is obliterated, as well as the nightmare effects of censorship.

George Orwell was a committed socialist, so much so that he fought, and almost died, in the Spanish Revolution on behalf of the communists. However, he became deeply disenchanted, when communist dictators like Stalin and Mao betrayed the revolution with mass surveillance, brutal repression, systematic murder, and totalitarianism.

Orwell stated that 1984, was based chiefly on communism, because that is the dominant form of totalitarianism, but I was trying to imagine what communism would be like if it were firmly rooted in the English speaking countries, and was no longer a mere extension of the Russian Foreign Office.

Yet you and I dont have to imagine anymore, as the White House just created their new Disinformation Governance Board inside the Department of Homeland Security.

Yes, you read that right. The bureaucrats who should be (but arent) protecting our Southern Border armed with the militaristic might of the Federal Government have become the new Ministry of Truth.

In 1984, the Ministry of Truth was the propaganda arm of the government. By controlling the news, the media, entertainment, and education, they created a world where only One Truth is allowedthat which was approved by the government.

By rewriting past news accounts and books, the Party literally remade history into what they wanted it to be. By militarizing the Thought Police to investigate thoughtcrime, they eliminated people who had opposing views. But perhaps the most devious attack was Newspeak, the deliberate culling of words, like freedom and democracy, from the English language, in order to make these heretical thoughts essentially impossible.

When I first read 1984 in the early 80s, I never dreamed any of it could ever happen here.

Then came political correctness.

Surprisingly, the term originated in 1917 Soviet Russia. Over the past few decades, freedom-loving people have allowed the woke crowd to use political correctness to control what you and I are allowed to think and say.

Who among us thinks the government should add to its work list the job of determining what is true and what is disinformation? writes Politico, And who thinks the government is capable of telling the truth? Our government produces lies and disinformation at industrial scaleand always has.

Yet the White House wants to double-down on the repression of free speech, giving the woke PC police a military arm to enforce their odious mind control.

In a separate but interrelated story, the leftist mainstream media is furious that Elon Musk just bought Twitter.

The left used to love Musk as the guy who built green electric cars and private spaceships. They used to applaud him when he enthusiastically supported Obama and sarcastically attacked the Right.

Now, Twitter executives cry at board meetings at the thought that the media giant might have to allow free speech back on their platform. Now, the media is accusing Musk of being a racist and a right wing ideologue for suggesting that Twitter shouldnt censor opposing political views.

Remember, this is the same Twitter that suspended New York Post, Babylon Bee, and other media outlets in an attempt to silence them. Its the same platform that quashed countless facts that were later proven to be true. In short: it is the same platform that censors free speech.

Which leads us to a horrible truth: people today would rather sit comfortably in their safe space, than engage in free speech. People today would rather hide inside a plastic bubble, than hear opposing views. People today would rather be told what to think, than actually think for themselves.

This is how democracy dies. This is how dictatorships win. If we are to remain a free people, we must listen to each other and respect each others positions, whether we agree with them or not. Our goal should never be robotic agreement; but rather, curious empathy. We should embrace our differences, rather than eliminate opposing voices.

And we should never allow any Government to become the Truth Police.

State Representative Dave Belton represents the citizens of District 112, which includes Morgan County and the eastern side of Newton County.

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Reading between the lines of "1984" in 2022 | Opinion | morgancountycitizen.com - Morgan County Citizen

2022 is a big year for anniversaries: the Queens 70th anniversary, the BBCs centenary and the 25th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, to name a few. Its also the worst year for anniversaries because the people in charge of celebrating them are obsessed with political correctness.

The Big Jubilee Read, a celebration of great books written during the first seventy years of the Queens reign, has already taken an almighty kicking from Private Eye, The Telegraph and Alex Larman in The Critic among others, because of the bizarre omissions (childrens classics including The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter books and His Dark Materials, famous writers from Doris Lessing, AS Byatt and Kingsley Amis to Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes and Harold Pinter) and the woke choices.

Now comes the BFIs attempt to celebrate the BBCs centenary with what they have called 100 BBC TV Gamechangers. More political correctness. The Chinese Detective (notable for having the first British East Asian lead in a British television drama) but not The Singing Detective; Madhur Jaffreys Indian Cookery (one TV series) but not Fanny Cradock (24 TV series 1955-75); Ballet Negres (1946), excerpts from the repertoire of Europes first Black dance company, one of only two BBC programmes from the 1940s; but not Muffin the Mule, the first childrens programme to appear from the BBCs then new television studios at Lime Grove, the first televised Olympics or the beginning of the BBCs dedicated TV news service.

Theres a Scottish comedy show, Chewin the Fat, which the BFI contributor admits was virtually unknown and unseen elsewhere in Britain, but not Fawlty Towers, League of Gentlemen or Little Britain. Of course, theres one ethnic minority which doesnt feature in the BFI list. None of the great dramas by Jack Rosenthal, Stephen Poliakoff or Frederic Raphael about different aspects of Jewish life or history. Whenever you see woke lists, you always know theres one group who will be missed out.

Then there are the bizarre choices and even more curious omissions. Jed Mercurios Cardiac Arrest but not Line of Duty; Peter Watkinss Threads, about a nuclear attack made at the height of CND, but not War Game or his pioneering drama-documentary, Culloden; plenty of David Attenborough but no Ascent of Man, no Moon Landing, and no Life Story, Mick Jacksons brilliant drama about the discovery of the structure of DNA with Jeff Goldblum, Tim Pigott-Smith, Juliet Stevenson and Alan Howard. Theres the BBC Proms but nothing by Christopher Nupen, Camberwick Green but nothing from Watch with Mother.

Of course, there are some outstandingly good choices: Arena, Civilisation and Ways of Seeing from the arts, Life on Earth and Blue Planet, some great childrens programmes from The Sooty Show and Playschool to Blue Peter and Vision On (but its worth noting that theres only one childrens programme since Teletubbies), and great dramas, from The Forsyte Saga to The Billy Trilogy and Boys from the Blackstuff.

Each choice has a section called How it changes TV. Some of the choices were pioneering: from Ways of Seeing and Arena to Pennies from Heaven and The Office. They all radically changed the nature of arts programmes, drama and comedy. Vision On was designed specifically for children with hearing impairment and Something Special pioneered the use of Makaton.

Some of the most interesting choices didnt change the form of TV at all, but did introduce different voices, especially since the 1970s: new Black and Asian comedy shows and dramas, including The Lenny Henry Show and Goodness Gracious Me, gay drama series like Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. But arguably there are equally important firsts: the first well-known and much-loved Black childrens TV presenters like Floella Benjamin and Derek Griffiths on Play School; Cy Grant, the first black person to be featured regularly on television in the United Kingdom, mostly due to his appearances on the BBC current affairs show Tonight; Moira Stuart, the UKs first female African-Caribbean television newsreader; and Diane-Louise Jordan, the first Black presenter on Blue Peter in the 1990s.

But many of the choices didnt change TV at all. They may have been outstanding and/or popular, but how did Strictly (Come Dancing + mostly minor celebrities) change TV? Or Amy Jenkinss overrated drama, This Life? The Six Wives of Henry VIII was hugely popular in the early 1970s, but like so many dramas of the time it remained confined to the studio, with huge, clunky old cameras; it now looks old-fashioned compared to Peter Kosminskys Wolf Hall.

Which brings us to technology. There is no room here for the first use of colour TV, the first satellite transmissions, the first use of lightweight cameras in TV drama and in news, the change from film to video.

There are other dramatic changes. If you look at the BBCs timeline celebrating 100 years of the corporation, there are references to the 1951 General Election with Truly comprehensive analysis and results for the first time; the first BBC daily news TV programme in 1954; the first TV programme for deaf children in 1955, a forerunner to Vision On; Edward II with Ian McKellen in 1970, which showed the first same-sex kiss on British television; Does He Take Sugar?, a series which began in 1977 offering a new perspective on the lives of disabled people. These are all programmes which changed British television for the better, but they didnt make the BFI list. The BFI seem more interested in ethnic minorities (no, not that one), transsexuals, feminists, left-wing drama and refugees. If only the BBCs centenary had been twenty years ago.

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Why 2022 is the worst year for anniversaries - TheArticle

A recent Marist Poll showing a Republican advantage in the upcoming election has some additional good news for the GOP big gains among Hispanic and other non-White voters.

The survey, taken in late April, reflects a national trend signaling Hispanic and non-White voters are increasingly disenchanted with the Biden administration and with Democrats who run Congress. In rising numbers, they plan to pick GOP candidates in November, when every House seat and 34 Senate seats are up for grabs.

A Wall Street Journal poll in March found Hispanic voters picked a Republican candidate over a Democrat by 9 percentage points on the generic congressional ballot.

The survey found that support for Democrats among Black voters had shrunk dramatically, from 56% in November 2021 to 35% in March. Black voters increased their support for GOP candidates, the poll found, from 12% to 27% from November to March.

Republican strategists are optimistic, but say the upcoming election will truly test whether the trend spotted in polls will provide real gains to the party, which has traditionally lagged behind Democrats when it comes to Hispanic and non-White voters.

Weve seen a surge in polling showing Hispanics are moving to the GOP, but have yet to see any real evidence in recent special elections and off-year elections, said Republican strategist Ryan Girdusky.

The Marist poll of registered voters showed that 47% planned to vote for a GOP candidate, compared with 44% who said they would more likely choose a Democrat. Independent voters picked Republicans over Democrats 45% to 38%.

Among Hispanics, whose vote has become increasingly critical in swing areas of the country, 52% said they would pick a Republican if the election were held immediately, compared with 39% who planned to vote for a Democrat.

Half of non-White voters said they would pick a Democrat, but 41% said they would choose a Republican candidate.

The big gains for the GOP suggest that while President Biden will not be on the ballot, hes poised to cast a long shadow over the results.

Voters are increasingly concerned about inflation, high gas prices, crime and other economic woes that have persisted or worsened under the Biden administration.

Among Hispanic voters polled by Marist, 60% disapproved of Mr. Bidens handling of the economy, while 33% said they approved of his job performance. Non-White voters disapproved by a margin of 50% to 43%.

Giancarlo Sopo, a Cuban American Republican strategist, said the Marist poll shows Hispanic voters are unhappy about the economy and other issues, including rising crime.

The data strongly suggest Bidens Hispanic woes stem from concerns over the economy and public safety, Mr. Sopo tweeted. Hispanics disapprove of economic handling by 27 points. This makes sense. The median Hispanic household income is $55k. Inflation is bad for everyone and brutal for Latinos.

Mr. Girdusky said Senate and House races in Nevada, Texas, Arizona, and in Californias Central Valley, where Hispanics make up a substantial part of the electorate, will tell us how substantial the movement is.

According to the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, 1 in every 10 voters in 2022 is expected to be Latino, an increase of more than 34% since 2014.

In Arizona, where Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is defending a seat that could determine whether the party maintains the Senate majority, Hispanics are expected to make up nearly a quarter of all voters.

Mr. Biden won the state by fewer than 10,000 votes in 2020, and Arizona voters have since then soured on the administration.

An OH Predictive Insights poll taken in late March found 55% of Arizona voters were unhappy with Mr. Bidens job performance. Among the respondents, 22% were Hispanics.

The wavering Hispanic vote will be critical in Nevadas Senate race, where Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is battling Republican challenger Adam Laxalt.

More than 16% of the 2022 electorate in Nevada is expected to be made up of Hispanic voters. They helped Mr. Biden narrowly win the state in 2020, but polling in late March found Hispanic voters in Nevada now favor Mr. Trump by 19%.

The Blueprint Polling survey found Ms. Cortez Masto and Mr. Laxalt tied among Hispanic voters.

Democrats told The Washington Times they plan to educate Hispanic voters on the difference between the two political parties on taxes, health care and other issues.

While Democrats lower costs and invest in communities, Republicans plot to hike taxes on working families and attack affordable health care, all while emboldening the extremists and White supremacists in their rank, said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman Hallen Kalla.

Mr. Sopo told The Washington Times that Democrats need to focus on issues that are most critical to Hispanic voters and not political correctness and making minorities feel like victims in America, which he said, is just not how most Hispanics view ourselves or this country.

Link:

Republicans making critical gains among Hispanic and non-White voters ahead of 2022 election - Washington Times

ITV DI Ray fans have been left divided by the opening episode - but all are in agreement: Birmingham has stolen the show. Fans have commented saying they love the Brum backdrop to the new drama.

But some think the series if off to a dull and boring start. Bird said: "#DIRAY anyone else bored already? Was hoping it would be a good drama but its so slow." But Rebecca shot back: "We really enjoyed it fail to see how people thought it was boring... was fab."

Gavin Evans said: "Finding #DIRay really boring." Dennis remarked: "#DIRay shes being followed so she leads them to her home .... not exactly the most intelligent thing for a detective inspector to do surely."

READ MOREAnne Robinson quits Countdown and issues lengthy statement

But Cleo said: "#DIRay enjoying the first episode and love the premise. Promoted to tick a box but only speaks English and GCSE Spanish, made me smile, Real. Filmed in Brum and mainly West Mids cast.." And Excuse Me said: "I'm quite enjoying the slower pace, with no one being shot or exploded body parts scattered across a car park yet. Bit different from the Line of Duty team #DIRay."

LJ Kaboom said: "Im not enjoying #DIRay and not for reasons the old racists on here are banging on about such as political correctness. I just think the story is lacking and there hasnt been enough investment in the characters. Its good to see a show filmed in Birmingham though."

Another "Good lord, this plod drama is, well, plodding." Another said: "Anyone else bored already? Was hoping it would be a good drama but it's so slow."

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ITV DI Ray fans left divided about show but all in agreement on one thing - Birmingham Live

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In case you dont know old John A., hes the dude you see on some of the $10 bills.

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Well, Sir John A. Macdonald is on the hot seat again.

The Calgary Board of Education is looking at scrubbing the name of Canadas first prime minister from a city junior high school.

The public school trustees formed something called a name review committee and the group will ponder historical research and analysis related to the school name.

The school board says the group will consider the diverse perspectives of students, staff, families and community members.

They say there is complex history attached to the name.

They do not say it but theyre talking about Macdonalds establishment and strong support of residential schools back in the day.

You dont need a PhD in connecting the dots to know where this story is likely headed.

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Two schools in Ontario have recently scrapped the Macdonald name.

One is in Kingston, widely recognized as Macdonalds hometown.

The new name will be either Butternut Creek, Forestview, Maple or Mapleview. None of those names appear to cause any offence.

But here in Alberta, mention getting rid of the name of Macdonald and Premier Jason Kenney would give you an earful.

When a statue of Macdonald bit the dust in Montreal, Kenney said he would be happy to take it off their hands and put it up on the grounds of the Alberta legislature in Edmonton and protect it and defend it.

The premier said this countrys first prime minister was an imperfect man but still a great leader and a great man.

For him, without Macdonalds efforts and vision, this country would not exist and we should honour his vision.

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Kenney would go against the tide and say if the new standard is to cancel any figure in our history associated with what we now rightly regard as historical injustices then essentially that is the vast majority of our history.

Other names have been taken off of schools but they were lesser lights. Now its Macdonald.

Yes, talk about getting rid of Sir John A. from a school and the premier didnt hesitate to push right back.

Kenney would acknowledge the injustices in residential schools and say we had to face up to the darker moments in our history, but he rejected the radical, out-of-control political correctness.

On Monday, I was looking for some kind of statement from Kenney. This stuff is right in his wheelhouse.

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Throw the pitch and see him swing.

Kenney was approached through five different routes. Crickets.

Guess the premier is busy with just a little over two weeks to go before he and the rest of us finally find out his political fate, a verdict delivered by his own UCP members.

Adriana LaGrange, the Kenney governments education boss, is in the batters box.

LaGrange, a former school board trustee of many years, says renaming a school is a very serious issue.

There is no ambiguity in where the Kenney government stands.

Im not in favour and our government is not in favour of erasing or cancelling our first prime minister, she says.

He was instrumental in ensuring we have the Canada we have today.

LaGrange says no one is perfect, including our first prime minister, but he did do many great things.

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Kenneys education minister calls Macdonald one of our founding fathers.

Do you eliminate your founding father or erase the work he did?

Erasing the good Sir John A. Macdonald did in creating this great country I love and serve does not, in any way, do justice to where we should be.

LaGrange says neither she nor the Kenney government has a role in whether or not to deep-six the Macdonald name from the Calgary school.

She also makes clear residential schools promoted by Macdonald were a terrible, terrible time of our history, a terrible legacy.

She reminds us the city public school board was thinking of dropping Macdonalds name in 2018.

I believe at that time It was not successful. The vast majority were in favour of retaining the name, says LaGrange.

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Four years ago, the Calgary Board of Education said no definitive decisions had been made but they were having ongoing conversations with their Elder Advisory Council about school names and their importance.

The issue is back.

Does LaGrange feel most people agree with her, that Sir John A. Macdonald should stay on as the school name?

I believe the vast majority of people will. I believe the average Albertan understands Sir John A. Macdonald was a great leader but he was not without his faults.

So here we are.

Is LaGrange prepared to take the heat, to be a target as shes been many, many times before?

Im always prepared to be vilified, she says.

rbell@postmedia.com

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Bell: Kenney government wants hands off old John A. - Calgary Sun

The British chess grandmaster Michael Stean, who was there, described the 1978 World Chess Championship (held in Baguio, The Philippines, between July and October) as a surreal experience and the most bewildering and dirty world championship match in the history of chess.

In their film The World Champion, director Aleksey Sidorov and producer Nikita Mikhalkov have reproduced the legendary game in which 27-year-old Anatoli Karpov, a young Soviet champion, faced off against Viktor Korchnoi, 20 years older and a Russian exile.

A game of science with a dose of art, chess was a geopolitical weapon of the first order in the last years of the Cold War. At the end of the 1970s, the Soviet Union had winning basketball and ice hockey teams, virtuoso soccer players like Oleg Blokhin and exceptional athletes like Viktor Sarteieve. It also had chess.

Karpov had regained the world champion title three years before the match in the Philippines, thanks to American Bobby Fischer forfeiting the title due to a dispute over the match format. Fischers win in Reykjavik in 1972 was a serious affront to the Soviets, who had had a countryman hold the title since the end of the Second World War.

With Soviet hegemony restored and Karpov, a young chess player, still on the rise, the Kremlin did not expect to face a threat like the one posed by the defection of Viktor Korchnoi in 1976.

Korchnoi had taken advantage of his participation in the Amsterdam tournament to apply for political asylum in the Netherlands. More than ideological dissidence, he was motivated by professional ambition.

Korchnoi had been the last rival defeated by Anatoli Karpov in his race to the title in 1975. At his age (he was already 45 years old when he defected), being world champion again seemed like a pipe dream. The Soviet authorities came to suggest that the time had come to step aside so as not to hinder the generational change that Karpov represented.

Korchoi had also not ingratiated himself with the regime particularly well - temperamental and impulsive, he lacked the docility and political correctness required for survival at the upper echelons of Soviet society.

From his exile, first in the Netherlands and then in Switzerland, Korchnoi continued to compete at the highest level. Prior to the 1978 world championship he defeated two former world champions (Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky) and a third player from the Soviet elite, Lev Polugaievsky at the Candidates Tournament.

But the truth is most pundits considered Karpov the clear favorite, even though they recognized that Korchnoi was in excellent form, his flight to the West having had a revitalizing effect on his game. In the duel between the two, bets were tilted towards the first. Michael Stean, who was part of Korchnois team of analysts, said we dreamed of beating Karpov, but it seemed unlikely to us.

To win the title you had to win six games, not counting draws. After 17 games, Krpov had already obtained four victories, to Korchnois one.

What happened next was watched with growing astonishment by the international press.

The World Champion portrays a desperate Korchnoi wanting to resort to foul play to destabilize a superior rival. The reality is likely more nuanced than that.

It started, one could say, with the sunglasses. Karpov alleged that Korchnoi used them to blind him, deliberately catching the reflection of the spotlights in the room with the sunglasses, to project against his eyes. Korchnoi retorted that he wore the shades to protect himself from the icy look of defiance with which Karpov tried to intimidate his opponents.

Head referee Lothar Schmidt and his team tested the glasses, sitting in the same position as the players, to determine to what extent the blinding mirror effect denounced by Karpov was true. They concluded that the sunglasses were not interfering but even so, they asked Karchoi to remove them as an act of goodwill, which he did in the final stretch of the match.

Which flag Korchnoi would play under - that of the Netherlands (the country that had granted him asylum) or of Switzerland (his place of residence) was also a subject of controversy. The Soviet delegation insisted he was a deserter and a stateless person who should display a white flag on his part of the gaming table. Korchnois representatives countered by offering, somewhat playfully, that the exile play under the Jolly Roger, the pirate flag. In the end, it was decided that no flags would be displayed on the table.

It was the second game that brought the most surreal moments. The players began a Byzantine dispute over the types of chairs they would sit in while playing - Korchnoi insisting on a certain model for reasons of comfort, Karpov demanding that it be disassembled and X-rayed to ensure it did not include any listening devices; Karpov spinning in his chair while his opponent was thinking, which Korchnoi said was extremely disruptive.

Korchnoi also protested the blueberry yogurt that waiters served Krpov during the second and third games, claiming it could be used for coded communications from his analysts. The referees decided that the Soviet player could continue to be served the yogurt, on the condition that it be always at the same time and that the referee be informed, prior to the yogurt being served, of what color it was.

A further issue was the presence of Vladimir Zhukar as part of the Russian delegation. Zhukar was a neurologist at the Moscow Psychology Laboratory. Korchnoi insisted that he was a parapsychologist - a kind of sorcerer who hypnotizes people to control their actions. Zhukar was forbidden from sitting in the front five rows and Korchnois team would have people sit next to the neurologist and stare at him in order to break his concentration.

Then came the complete breakdown of courtesy between rivals, the most elementary protocol of chess. Krpov stopped shaking hands with Korchnoi, while, according to the Soviets, Korchnoi started muttering insults under his breath. Any verbal interaction between the players had to be prohibited and even draw offers began to be made through the referees.

The atmosphere only grew more delirious. Korchnois partner, Petra, began to attend proceedings with two members of Ananda Marga, a sect of Indian origin that was then popular within the American counterculture. Korchnoi explained that they were his yoga instructors, but they were denied access to the room when it was discovered that they both held criminal records and were using the opportunity of international exposure to demand the freedom of their groups leader, who had been imprisoned for attempted murder. The Soviets took advantage of this blow to Korchnoi by having Dr. Zhukar returned to the front rows, where he sat close to the then-Philippine president, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and First Lady Imelda Marcos.

The World Champion also references unverified incidents used by Krpovs team to claim there was a CIA operation underway to favor Korchnoi, evidenced by the appearance of a snake in the hotel room where Krpov was staying and that, when he moved to a private residence, noises of helicopters flying overhead or sprinklers starting up in the middle of the night prevented him from sleeping. Stean recalls that every day there was a new press conference with mutual accusations and the referee team was forced to intervene to put out fires.

The film also shows Korchnoi showing up at the gaming floor with a Geiger counter to monitor radioactivity levels, saying, Believe it, the Soviets are capable of that and more.

Amidst the geopolitical circus that now defines this match, we will never know for sure if there was really any foul play at work. The final chapter began at the end of September, with both rivals tense and not playing at their best. Karpov was leading the scoreboard by a comfortable 5-2 when his game entered a deep slump, leading to three losses in four games. It appeared the crown could return to the West.

The decisive game was played on October 17. With the confidence of his recent victories, Korchnoi adopted a high-risk defense aimed at deciding the match, but Karpov rallied, achieving a winning position in 41 moves and five hours of play.

Karpov was the epitome of everything Viktor Korchnoi hated about the Soviet Union, said Stean, recalling the unusual level of acrimony and personal and ideological hostility expressed during the match. To him, Karpov had voluntarily chosen to represent the regime.

Viktor was a fighter. I imagine facing Karpov felt like a member of the French resistance would have felt facing someone who had collaborated with the Nazis.

For the Soviets, said Stean, retaining the title was like winning a version of the space race, with Karpov as their man on the moon.

Karpov beat Korchnoi a second time three years later before being beaten himself by Garry Kasparov in 1985, still keeping the crown in Russian hands.

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Parapsychologists, sects and secret services: Remembering the most tense chess game in history - EL PAS in English

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, one of the most popular comedies of the 1990s, arrived in May of 1997, 25 years ago this week. The film, which stars Myers as both hero Austin Powers and villain Dr. Evil, spawned a pair of sequels, as well as a half-dozen catchphrases, from yea baby, yea, to do I make you horny, baby?

The film, in which Myers played Powers as a horny secret agent of the 60s transposed into the slightly more politically correct 90s, was part of the trend towards 60s nostalgia, 30 years later. Written by Myers himself, the film drew a lot of inspiration from plots in the James Bond series and featured Elizabeth Hurley (in the first film) in her first major starring role.

Hugely influential at the time but getting old relatively quickly Austin Powers-mania was a major force in the late 90s and early 2000s, especially when the sequels arrived in 1999 and 2002.

Here are a few things that you might not know about Austin Powers:

Myers once said in an interview that the origin of the Austin Powers character was, as he drove home from hockey practice one night, hearing the Burt Bacharach song The Look of Love, and wondering whatever became of 60s swinger culture. The Canadian-born Myers was also inspired, in some ways, by the culture of his British-born parents; his father also had Scottish heritage, which inspired everything from Myers All Things Scottish sketch on SNL to his father character in So I Married an Axe Murderer to his voice of Shrek.

While Myers played lots of recurring characters on Saturday Night Live, Austin Powers didnt come from there. The character actually started in Ming Tea, a mock band Myers formed along with a group of musicians, including Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, in the mid-1990s. Hoffs husband, Jay Roach, directed all three Austin Powers movies.

About a third of the film was improvised, Myers said in an interview around the time of its release, although its hard to say how significant that is when the credited screenwriter is also portraying both the hero and villain.

Cool Britannia was a cultural moment in the second half of the 1990s, coinciding with Tony Blairs arrival as prime minister, in which British culture became cool around the world again. Austin Powers was a key part of this, as was Four Weddings and a Funeral, as were bands like Oasis and Blur, and of course the Spice Girls. Both Austin Powers and The Spice Girls heavily featured British flags in their iconography.

Myers originally wanted Carrey to play the villainous part, but ultimately Carrey was busy with Liar, Liar, and Myers took the part himself.

If youve ever heard Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels speak, its hard not to notice that Dr. Evils speech patterns and mannerisms are clearly meant as a homage to Lorne, the fellow Canadian who was Myers boss for many years on SNL. This was acknowledged out loud on a Saturday Night Live anniversary special.Myers SNL and Waynes World co-star, Dana Carvey, once accused Myers of stealing his Michaels impression, although he later said he had forgiven Myers.

Everyone likely remembers Austin Powers as a huge phenomenon, but it actually took a while to get going. The first movie, when it came out in 1997, had a box office figure of $53.8 million, while many fans discovered it on DVD or home video months later. The two sequels, however, both made more than $200 million, per Box Office Mojo figures. And while Verne Troyers Mini-Me was a huge part of the franchise, you may have forgotten that he was not in the first film.

Austin Powers is well-known for having lots of references to the James Bond series, from its secret agent plot to punny names like Alotta Fagina to what Roger Ebert called The Fallacy of the Talking Killer. But the film is full of other cinematic references and homages. The films of Peter Sellers are referenced constantly, especially with the stars multiple roles, and there are also nods to everything from other British spy films to the Beatles cinematic oeuvre.

Powers says this line at one point, which is a direct reference to Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the 1970 Russ Meyer film that was the lone screenplay credit by Roger Ebert. Ebert noted this in his review.

This is always a silly question to ask, and especially silly with this film. A big part of the plot, after all, is that an unreconstructed 1960s man is dropped into the 1990s when standards of political correctness are very different than they were 30 years before. Despite more than a decade of rumors, a fourth Austin Powers movie has yet to be produced- but that likely has more to do with those catchphrases having gotten tiresome over time than any modern notions of wokeness.

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Austin Powers: 10 things you didn't know about the landmark '90s comedy - Tilt Magazine