U of T’s G8 Research Group (G8RG) is ending an intense, but rewarding, few days at the Hokkaido Summit here in Japan. The Japanese hosts had hoped to centre the Summit around Climate Change, but was overshadowed by increasing food and oil prices, as well as the political violence in Zimbabwe. Nonetheless, the G8RG think something came out of the summit, and the analysts are all hastily finishing their final assessment reports on the countries and issues…well, most analysts, not this blogger… (more…)

This movie is truly awesome, and is the best depiction of life in North Korea (or at least Pyongyang) that exists. I highly recommend everyone to come out to this, the gymnists are also truly amazing…if there was ever an Olympic event in mass gymnastics…the North Koreans would win it hands down.

The newly created North Korea Research Group in conjunction with the International Relations Soicety are hosting the BBC Documentary ‘A State of Mind.’ It will be held at the George Ignatieff Theatre at 15 Devonshire Place, and the event will be free, with some nubblies as well. Want to know a bit more?

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OK, so now that you are back into the swing of things, it’s quite possible, like me, that you are absolutely broke. Looks at if the Career Centre is here to save us again with their Part-Time Job Fair. Details are below:

The Career Centre is hosting a Part-Time Job Fair for all University
of Toronto students interested in part-time employment.

PART-TIME JOB FAIR
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Career Centre, 214 College St.
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

That’s right, the amply named festival From the Queen to the Chief Executive: Hong Kong Films 10 Years After the Handover is shaping up to be a very diverse festival indeed. This festival has something for everyone, from children’s cartoons to exciting thrillers. Also showing is the Toronto Premier of Isabella, an award winning drama which sees a petty criminal discover his long lost daughter.

The festival runs from May 4-6th, and tickets are a reasonable $7 per film, $17 for a 3 screen pass, and $45 for a festival pass. The opening night will show Isabella at the ROM and a swanky after party at the Munk Centre all for $15. Tickets can be bought in person, at the U of T Box Office at Hart House, by phone (416-978-8849), or online.

To download a flashy program for the Festival, click here

Tickets are sure to sell out quickly for these films, so you probably will want to think about buying them soon.

Feel like volunteering? E-mail sarah.lang@utoronto.ca for more information. All volunteers get free passes to the movie screenings.

While surfing the net, getting an x-ray, or driving to school, have you ever wondered: “What have all these technologies got to do with my rights and responsibilities as a Canadian?” Probably not, eh?

However, Darin Barney, who recently spoke at the 2007 Hart House Lecture, argues that we should be asking ourselves this question. If we believe that as Canadians we should have some say about new technologies, then we are exercising citizenship in our rapidly developing technology state. If we don’t care, he says, Canada and other nations will still have to address the unintended consequences caused by the speed and unregulated growth of technology.

To read the full article on Darin Beany and the technological state,
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Canadian, humanitarian extrodinare, Stephen Lewis, will be gracing us with his presence next month at Convocation Hall. This guy is incredibly passionate in his speechs and makes you leave wanting to make a difference in Africa without feeling too guilty of yourself for not doing anything yet. The talk is Sunday, March 18th, but you’ll want to get your tickets soon. There will be a couple of other guest speakers as well, but if you want to know more, (more…)

Romeo Dalliare will be closing up the York University Model UN Conference on Sunday, February 25th. I’ve seen this guy talk before, he is incredibly passionate and moving. While I doubt Mr. Dallaire will have too many good things to say about the UN and its member states, his insight in regions like Darfur will certainly be enlightening.

The presentation time will be between 1:30 and 3:00pm (arrive early to get a good seat!) and it will be at the Sheraton Centre Toronto, across from Nathan Phillip’s Square at Bay and Yonge St. Tickets are $15.

Honourable Senator Romeo Dallaire was Force Commander of the United Nations mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. He is author of the international bestseller: Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity, as well as a leading speaker on the topic of conflict resolution in areas which include the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and most recently Darfur.

It’s a great opportunity to see this presentation as it was extremely difficult to get tickets for the same presentation last year at the Hart House (which was $40 for students and $100 for non-students!). It’s supposed to be an amazing powerpoint presentation, complete with maps and diagrams demonstrating the many issues involved with resolving modern armed conflict.