No aliens here

Between enumeration ads and the enumerators themselves, we are constantly reminded that a federal election looms ahead. Pretty soon politicians will be bombarding us with their versions of the facts, swaying us to vote this way or that. The best part (for some of us, anyway) is when they start accusing each other of shady dealings, covert operations and other shenanigans.

But what if there are other agendas--hidden agendas--beyond the obvious ones? What if they're all in the same bed together? Jeff Koftinoff has compiled postings from Usenet groups, print media and the Web to create the Canadian Conspiracy Pages (www.turnercom.com/jdk/canal.html). Among the more believable conspiracies: Lucien Bouchard, the "transnational bankers' man," was parachuted in to lead the PQ as part of a larger plan to annex Canada to the U.S. Koftinoff's perspective on the big picture, while farfetched at times, will make you ask, "What's really going on?"--Emru Townsend



April 10, 1997

Technology's freedom fighters

Everyone jokes about Microsoft as the evil empire, with Bill Gates as Darth Vader. But some people don't think it's funny. Consider: Microsoft is all over the computing world, in software, hardware, the Internet, games and even special effects and animation (through our very own Softimage). This, according to some, is just the warm-up for Gates's ultimate goal of world domination.

Mitch Stone is one of many who thinks that we must fight Gatesian hegemony while we can, and presents his arguments on the Boycott Microsoft site (www.vcnet.com/bms/), complete with articles, references and quotes. If you think that he's just a touch paranoid, you might want to check out Microsoft's own site (www.microsoft.com) and read their news briefs - they might scare you more. Emru Townsend



April 3, 1997

Cult catalogue now online

If the last week has proven anything, it's that cults can seriously cramp your style. The Observer, a UK paper, has obviously realized this for some time; although their definition of "cult" may be a bit broader than most, their Web site examines why people join cults and provides handy links to many other cult-related sites.

The site contains a fairly extensive list of the major cults--from Aum Shinrikyo to Zoroastrians--along with their tenets, histories and the reasons why you should or shouldn't join. The site is fairly objective, neither for or against cults in and of themselves; they give you the information and let you make up your own mind. Emru Townsend [http://www.guardian.co.uk/cults/]

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