York experts comment on the Toronto Sceptres new name and logo, the Venezuelan election, authoritarian populism, labour relations and more
Professor and Dean of AMPD Sarah Bay-Cheng, a former NCAA basketball player, weighs in on the new name for Toronto's PWHL team, the Toronto Sceptres, which a local fan says isn't very catchy. "In sports, there's a long history of team names that people didn't love at first. But if the team is good and the hockey is good, then over time that will define the name more than the name will define the hockey," Bay-Cheng tells Toronto Star. "The most important thing is that the players are having good games and the manager is putting a good team on the ice and there's fun and energy around."
In sports, there's a long history of team names that people didn't love at first. But if the team is good and the hockey is good, then over time that will define the name more than the name will define the hockey.
Bay-Cheng speaking to Toronto Star
After the Toronto Sceptres name and branding was revealed on Monday, Taylor Swift fans noticed the logo was eerily similar to a 'TS' emblem featured on the front of a cheerleader uniform sported by the pop star in her 2014 music video for the single "Shake It Off." Professor Vijay Setlur spoke to Toronto Star for an article about the similarities and how the coincidence could play out. "You can launch a legal action, but then how is it going to look to your fans?" asked Setlur. He said superstars such as Swift are more concerned about intellectual property theft related to their music. A legal case for trademark infringement would have to prove deception, and the Sceptres could claim fair use. "You have to manage your reputation. This might be something that's not even worth bothering. Plus, it's a women's hockey team and not a drug company or a political organization. It's a good thing, an entity that's respectful."
Professor Antulio Rosales weighs in on Venezuela's opposition running out of options for challenging President Nicolas Maduro's claim to have won reelection. Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia fled in exile to Spain last weekend. Other oppositional figures have been arrested or are in hiding while Maduro insists he won and has — at least publically — ruled out any kind of negotiation with the opposition. "It is clear that the government is not seeking to yield and, to the contrary, it is digging in," says Rosales to the International Business Times.
Professor Emeritus Daniel Drache and co-author question whether authoritarian populism is finally being rejected by citizens around the world in an op-ed for The Conversation. "Getting out the vote is always the key to defeating authoritarianism. If enough citizens who believe in the values of democracy show up to cast their ballots, populist forces near and far could sooner or later get clobbered," they write.
Getting out the vote is always the key to defeating authoritarianism.
Drache and co-author for The Conversation
Canada’s federal labour board ordered Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPK) railways, along with over 9,000 other workers, back to work and into binding arbitration, but safety concerns remain central to the dispute, writes Professor Bruce Campbell in his op-ed for The Conversation.
Air Canada's pilots are in a legal strike position as of Sept. 17, raising concerns about labour unrest in the country's air travel sector. In an op-ed for The Globe and Mail, Professor Steven Tufts writes about the airline, which has returned to profitability, facing contract renegotiations with both pilots and flight attendants, who are seeking significant wage increases after a decade-long freeze. "All of this is compounded by the fact that the government has recently flexed its muscle in the transportation sector to limit workers’ right to strike," writes Tufts, adding that the government's involvement could undermine serious negotiations and add to the challenge of maintaining stable labour relations in the sector.
In an op-ed for The Conversation, Professor Emeritus Joel Lexchin and co-authors address Africa's need for an estimated 10 million doses of the mpox vaccine. "Low-income countries, especially those in Africa, are always at the end of the line when it comes to accessing vaccines, diagnostics and treatments. This is a story that has been repeated multiple times in the past few decades – with HIV/AIDS, Ebola and most recently COVID," they write. Maldistribution is not inevitable, they add, but it's also not a problem Africa can solve on its own: "A new set of global rules is also needed to ensure all countries work cooperatively to prevent, prepare for and respond to pandemics and to share vaccines and other needed medical products."
This weekend: Friends of the Muskoka Watershed (FOTMW) has partnered with Peerless (Sunset Cruises) to host Peer Under the Surface, a guided tour of Lake Rosseau. Leaving the Port Carling dock at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15, passengers aboard the tour boat will make a net and cruise the Muskoka waterways until noon. “We’ll be going out with dip nets, and equipping everyone on board with magnifying glasses," says Professor Norman Yan, founding chair of FOTMW and one of the scientists leading the cruise. Tickets are $64 and funds will go towards tackling local environmental issues.
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