Jay Baruchel Joins Forces With Captain Canuck On Free Comic Book Day 2017!

Jay Baruchel joins forces with Captain Canuck on Free Comic Book Day 2017! (CNW Group/Chapterhouse Publishing)

Jay Baruchel (Goon, Goon-Last of the Enforcers, This is the End, Man Seeking Woman, How to Train Your Dragon) joins the Captain Canuck team to co-write the Free Comic Book Day edition of Captain Canuck: Year One for Chapterhouse Comics with Editor in Chief and series writer Kalman Andrasofszky.

"Captain Canuck is a true Canadian icon and it is a humble honour to be involved in helping to shape the next generation of Canuck sagas for a new generation of readers and fans, as well as the die-hards that have followed Cap on his journey from the beginning", says Baruchel. "Chapterhouse is doing very awesome stuff as they breathe new life into the world of Canadian comics. I am proud to be joining their ranks in this incredible adventure as we work hard to bring exciting stories and classic heroes to life for readers across Canada."

"The Captain's ranks keep growing" says Fadi Hakim, President of Chapterhouse and Captain Canuck Incorporated, "and we're simply overjoyed to have a consummate talent and Canadian like Jay on board as we march forward!"

Canuck creator Richard Comely echoes Hakim's sentiment: "Jay is one of the most prolific, well-spoken people I've met in this industry - I know the Captain is in good hands!"

The first of the three part series is drawn by Canadian superstar Marcus To (The Flash, Red Robin, Joyride) and features a cover by David Finch (Batman: The Dark Knight, Avengers, Ultimate X-Men). 

The issue also includes an 8-page backup story - Die Kitty Die: Summer Beach Party created, written and illustrated by Dan Parent and Fernando Ruiz of Archie Comics fame.

About Captain Canuck

Created and launched by Richard Comely in 1975 with over 250,000 copies sold worldwide, Captain Canuck was rebooted in 2013 beginning with an Animated Web Series starring Kris Holden-Ried (Lost Girl), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Laura Vandervoort (Smallville) and Paul Amos (Assassin's Creed). 

The comic, published by Chapterhouse Comics was released with over 80,000 copies in May of 2015.

Free Comic Book Day is May 06 2017.

SOURCE: Chapterhouse Publishing

US Climate Heroes: Bypass Trump! [Petition]

Image via Avaaz.org

Dear friends,

One man could destroy our future in 34 days. Yep, Donald Trump. 

He doesn’t even need the nuclear codes -- he just needs to keep his promise to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, and have massive polluters like India or Russia follow suit! 

But we’ve got a silver bullet: bypass Trump.  

New York, California and Google have raised their climate ambitions after Trump's election -- if we get them to build a coalition of US cities, states and businesses to collectively meet the US climate target, the Paris agreement can hold. Let's send a million voices directly to their doorsteps!  

>> Click here to sign!

This really could work. Key cities, states and firms are already stepping up, with Google committing to 100% clean energy by next year!  

Add giant states like New York and California to giant cities like Chicago and Philadelphia, and experts say you might not even need the US Federal government to meet the US climate target! The Paris agreement can be saved. 

Avaaz has already been pushing this idea with insiders, who say that a big public push from our movement could help catalyze the leadership we need from climate heroes. Let's take millions of global voices to Mayors, Governors and CEOs across the US:  

>> Click here to sign!

Leaders change, facts do not. And that’s why our movement is so important. We can keep accelerating on the road towards a safe climate future, no matter who is in power. In the era of Trump’s denialism, let's help bring together the coalition we need to save the world.

With hope,

Loup Dargent
On behalf of Christoph, Alice, Nick, Risalat, Martyna, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team 

MORE INFORMATION

• Mayors could override Trump on the Paris climate accord — here's how (Business Insider)
• American Mayors Pledge Climate Leadership In Response To United States Presidential Election (C40 Cities)
• Trump is a threat to the Paris agreement. Can states like California defend it? (The Guardian)
• Google says it will hit 100% renewable energy by 2017 (TechCrunch)
• India’s silence on Trump noted at Marrakech climate talks (Climate Change News)
• Trump, Putin, and ExxonMobil team up to destroy the planet (Think Progress)

More Donald Trump Related Stories

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Tell Colleges: Don't Let Milo Yiannopoulos Harass Your Students [Petition]

Alt-Right's poster boy, Milo Yiannopoulos - image via Wikipedia

The following is an email I've received from Media Matters earlier on... as the subject of that email is Milo (I have written a post about the deluded Breitbart/alt-right's poster boy, quite a while ago), I definitely have no problem whatsoever sharing it on here.

Stay safe!

Loup Dargent

The Email:

Harassment is not a part of the marketplace of ideas. Campuses need to be places where ideas can be debated vigorously, and sometimes that debate will become uncomfortable or controversial. But when discussion devolves into outright harassment of students, it is time to draw a line.

When failed tech entrepreneur and Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos spoke at a Wisconsin university in December, he used the opportunity to harass a transgender woman. According to a local report, Yiannopoulos "named and showed a picture of the student to his audience, and accused the student of being a man trying to find his way into women's bathrooms." Yiannopoulos added "The way you know he's failed is I can still bang him."¹

>> Tell Colleges: Don't Let Milo Yiannopoulos Harass Your Students

Yiannopoulos is defined by his harassment. He is a champion of the "alt-right," a coalition of white supremacists and misogynists that have consistently used online platforms to organize harassment.

In October, the Anti-Defamation League found a drastic uptick in anti-Semitic tweets sent to journalists.² A conservative writer connected them to the "alt-right" and Yiannopoulos personally.³ Twitter banned Yiannopoulos in July for what the organization described as "participating in or inciting targeted abuse of individuals."⁴ The ban was widely understood as a reaction to the harassment campaign Yiannopoulos led against African-American actress Leslie Jones.⁵ This approach can be traced back to "Gamergate," where conspiracy theorists engaged in sustained harassment of women, including directing threats of violence against them.⁶ Yiannopoulos was a key figure in that as well.⁷

>> Tell Colleges: Don't Let Milo Yiannopoulos Harass Your Students
Colleges are rightfully reluctant to ban speakers based on their viewpoint. But they should not shy from taking a stand against people with a lengthy track record of harassment, especially those who have demonstrated a willingness to target and harass students.

Campuses have a simple way to prevent Yiannopoulos from harassing students on campus: They should require him to contractually agree to avoid such behavior before they permit him to speak on campus. If Yiannopoulos is truly interested in participating in an exchange of ideas, he should have no trouble agreeing to this. Campuses would also be doing their due diligence to protect their status as an open forum.

It's time to draw a line, and we need you to add your voice.

Erin Fitzgerald
LGBT Program Director, Media Matters

--------------------

[1] Herzog, Karen. (2016, December 15). Breitbart writer targets transgender UWM student Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. [2] ADL's Task Force on Harassment and Journalism. (2016, October 19). ADL Report: Anti-Semitic Targeting Of Journalists During The 2016 Presidential Campaign Anti-Defamation League. [3] Pesca, Mike. (2016, November 23). The Alt-Right Is Using Trump Slate. [4] Ohlheiser, Abby. (2016, July 21). Just how offensive did Milo Yiannopoulos have to be to get banned from Twitter? The Washington Post. [5] Singal, Jesse. (2016, November 4). Twitter Exile Has Not Been Good for Milo’s Brand New York. [6] Jeong, Sarah. (2016, December 14). If we took ‘Gamergate’ harassment seriously, ‘Pizzagate’ might never have happened The Washington Post. [7] Biddle, Sam. (2014, October 20). The D-List Right-Wingers Who've Turned Gamergate Into Their Loser Army Gawker.

Rogue One: The Latest Star Wars Film Fuels Resistance And Protest

It’s all happening. © 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd.

By Oli Mould, Royal Holloway

This year, by most accounts, has been tumultuous. Notwithstanding the rise of far-right extremism, “Brexitrump” and the horrors of Aleppo, there have been strikes, anti-government protests and discord on the streets of many cities around the world.

The political legacies of the Arab Spring, Occupy and the 2011 UK riots are bearing fruit, and resistance to the perceived injustices of state power are intensifying. Indeed, subversive and activist groups, such as guerrilla skateboarders, an ever-growing number of anti-gentrification cells in London and the army of humanitarian volunteers in places like the Calais Jungle are proliferating. Is it any wonder then that rebellion, resistance and protest strike such a chord in contemporary popular culture?

The latest offering in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One, gives us such a narrative. It is the first of (what will no doubt be many) “spin-off” films from the Star Wars universe. It tells the story – alluded to in the first Star Wars film in 1977 – of how a group of resistance fighters stole the plans to the Death Star from under the noses of the Galactic Empire.

AN JOr. © 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd.

Rogue One
Being once removed from the Star Wars saga, Rogue One had the freedom to dispense with the tired platitudes, cheesy star-wipe edits and homogeneous good versus evil, dark versus light tropes of the core films. With Godzilla and Monsters director Gareth Edwards at the helm, the film feels far grittier and somewhat more macabre. Edwards even had the licence to bring in, albeit briefly and somewhat unnecessarily, his trademark of a slimy, tenticular monster.

The story revolves around our hero Jyn Erso (ably played with a battle-hardened sobriety by Felicity Jones), who we see as a little girl in the prologue escaping capture from the Empire. As an older woman she is urged into joining the rebellion. She then leads a band of mercenaries on an against-all-odds heist mission to steal the plans to the Death Star and save the galaxy from the totalitarian Empire and their weapon of planetary destruction (leading some to label the film, somewhat unfairly, as “Ocean’s 11 in space”).

Edwards has skilfully produced a less cliched Star Wars film (and in the hilariously sarcastic droid K-2SO, produced the best non-human Star Wars character since Yoda), but kept the faithful happy with subtle references and the reintroduction of Darth Vader’s malevolence and fear-inducing power. One climatic scene in particular rolls back the years and rekindles some of the terror that gave Vader the accolade of the ultimate cinematic villain.

What the film does not compromise on are the spectacular visuals. Battle scenes set against tropical beaches give a World War II feel to it, and the CGI reincarnation of Peter Cushing’s Moff Tarkin is breathtaking. How the film links back into the first is done extremely skilfully, building to a quite chilling finale.

© 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd.

The faces of resistance
So Edwards has kept within the confines of the Star Wars canon, but created a narrative that complicates the clear distinction between good and evil, right and wrong. We see this particularly with the infighting among different factions of the Rebellion. After Erso’s father is taken away, she is raised by Saw Gerrera, an “extremist” who even the Rebellion have disowned. The broad spectrum of political thought that characterises subversion from and protest against contemporary state power is reflected here. Pseudo-spirituality, comical cynicism, personal grievances and lifelong idealistic struggle are all represented in the band of fighters Erso corrals to the cause.

The aesthetic alignment of the Empire (and its reincarnation of The First Order in The Force Awakens) with Nazism is proving to make the Star Wars films sadly far more prescient than they should be. The fact that Rogue One has been released now, at the end of 2016, and pits a political eclectic bunch of rebellious ideologues against a totalitarian and fascist regime, I’m sure is coincidental. But cinema, far more than any other medium, has the power to tap into, probe and catalyse tacit feelings within a society.

Rogue One stirs themes of resistance, empowerment and activism in the face of large-scale injustices, but also speaks to the political difficulties of enacting this. The amalgamation of diverse activist practice into a single political movement is fraught with difficulties: ideological differences between different groups, emotional and physical burnout, the lure of stardom and selling out, and many other pitfalls.

This is why, for me, cinema is an important resource in maintaining these practices. It can act as a shot-in-the-arm of hope and inspiration (much like Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival did, released as it was the week of Trump’s victory in the US election).

Rogue One plays on this directly with the repeated refrain that “rebellions are built on hope”. This is an important truth, one that will no doubt proliferate as the events of 2016 unfold in the coming years. Rogue One has tapped into that masterfully; and to do so in the confines of a hyper-commercialised Disney profit-fest, is an impressive feat indeed.


About Today's Contributor:
Oli Mould, Lecturer in Human Geography, Royal Holloway

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

"Yu-Gi-Oh! THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS" Movie Tickets Now On Sale In The US

4K Media Inc., the Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. subsidiary that manages the global Yu-Gi-Oh! brand outside of Asia, has announced that advance tickets for Yu-Gi-Oh! THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS are now on sale in the U.S. via yugiohtickets.com.

Additionally, the company announced the winners of three (3) Voiceover Contests held this past year; giving six (6) winners the unique opportunity to be voice-actors in the upcoming feature film.  

The film is set to be released for a limited-time engagement by 4K Media with Screenvision Media, a national cinema advertising leader, to over 500 theatres across the United States and Canada on January 27, 2017.

Kristen Gray, SVP of Operations and Business & Legal Affairs at 4K Media, said, "We're very excited to offer Yu-Gi-Oh! fans the opportunity to purchase their movie tickets in advance, to insure their ability to see this limited release film while in theatres.  We are also happy to share that theatres will be distributing an exclusive promotional Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card to fans as they enter the theatre, while supplies last."

"Anticipation for the new Yu-Gi-Oh! film is very high," added Darryl Schaffer, EVP Operations & Exhibitor Relations for Screenvision Media.  "By making tickets available in advance of the release dates, fans can rest assured that they'll be able to experience Yu-Gi-Oh! THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS without the fear of theaters being sold out."

The six winners of The Yu-Gi-Oh! THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS Voiceover Contests held at the following three events are:

• The 2016 Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship in Orlando,FL winners: Tyler Schmauch (Policeman) and Lindsay Victoria Granduke (Lab Technician A).
• The 2016 New York Comic Con winners: Luis Alfonso (Engineer) and Brooke Stocken (Bakura Fan Girl).
• The 2016 Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Championship Series in Minneapolis, MN winners - Ted Kong Yang, (Sanpei) and Bethany Cardinal (Lab Technician B)

In Yu-Gi-Oh! THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS, the stakes have never been higher; the rivalries never as fierce; the risks never so great. One wrong move—one card short—and it's game over for good. A decade in the making, Yu-Gi-Oh! THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS features new designs and an all-new story from the original creator of the global phenomenon, Kazuki Takahashi. 

His masterful tale features anime's most beloved characters in their long-awaited return: Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba and their faithful friends Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, Téa Gardner and Bakura. It's the most highly anticipated re-YU-nion ever!

In addition to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, video games and feature films, the brand also includes the Yu-Gi-Oh! animated franchise, with over 700 episodes spanning from the first series "Yu-Gi-Oh!" DUEL MONSTERS, followed by "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX," "Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's," "Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL" and "Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V." 

SOURCE: 4K Media Inc.

Never Mind Article 50, Here's Why Article 127 Could Be Crucial To Keeping Britain In The Single Market

Ms Jane Campbell / Shutterstock.com

By Gavin Barrett, University College Dublin

Britain’s membership of the European single market has become the most contentious issue in the post-Brexit debate. And the legal issues involved are proving rather tricky.

Britain’s single market membership is the product of not one, but two international organisations and their rules – the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). This means that interesting questions (and legal cases) are now arising on how Brexit will work.

Most are by now familiar with Article 50 of the EU Treaty – the formal trigger to leaving the EU. But now, it seems there is another article we might need to trigger – Article 127 of the EEA Agreement – to leave the single market.

Separate to the EU’s rules, the UK is also signed up to the rules of the EEA. These have been signed up to by 28 EU member states along with Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. Thanks to the EEA Agreement, these three states share Europe’s single market with the 28 EU states. But little else – no customs union, or common agriculture or fisheries policies.

The EEA owes its 1994 creation to the erstwhile European Commission president, Jacques Delors. His idea was that the EEA would be a kind of economic space absorbing European states into the single market, but without allowing them into what is now the EU – thereby allowing the 12 members of the then European Community (now EU) to continue working toward the creation of the euro currency, as well as internal market reform.

Jacques Delors. Parti socialiste/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

The EEA worked out, but somewhat differently than anticipated. There are only three non-EU participant states, rather than the large number Delors envisaged. Some (Finland, Austria and Sweden) joined the EU itself. One, Switzerland, opted out of the EEA entirely.

Non-EU EEA members are also effectively in what has been termed a “fax union” – meaning that Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland basically sit at the end of a fax machine waiting for the EU to send them single market rules to implement.

The jury’s out
Awkwardly, the UK electorate was not asked if they wanted to reject the single market – merely the EU. A 52% majority voted to leave that. Before the referendum, many Brexiteers (including UKIP’s Nigel Farage) extolled Norway’s EEA-based status. Now, however, many assert that respect for the June 23 vote requires rejecting the single market entirely, including EEA rules. They say voters sought to end contributions, restrict migration, and avoid even the most indirect application of the European Court of Justice decisions – and that these aims would be frustrated by staying in the EEA.

Single market remainers counter that there was no majority to leave the single market: many reasons for voting for Brexit had nothing to do with the single market (such as a belief that money would be saved, opposition by farmers to the common agricultural policy and fishermen to the fisheries policy – or even Labour voters to austerity). They note future UK contributions will be required anyway to gain market access (as Brexit minister David Davis has now conceded), that restrictions on migration (albeit admittedly limited ones) are possible under Article 112 of the EEA Agreement.

The law is unclear about what will happen to the UK’s single market status if it leaves the EU. The UK government asserts that the UK is party to the EEA agreement only in its capacity as an EU member state. So once the UK leaves the EU, it will automatically cease to be a member of the EEA. But that point is arguable.

Different groups voted to leave the EU for different reasons. Stefan Rousseau PA Wire/PA Images

Article 127 of the EEA Agreement expressly provides only one way of withdrawing: giving 12 months notice to other parties. If that provision applies, then just quitting the EU won’t be enough for the UK to leave the EEA’s single market. The UK will have to give express notice to leave the EEA too.

But maybe it doesn’t apply. Other provisions of the EEA Agreement seem to assume EU members (like the UK) are only signed up to it because they are in the EU. Leave the EU, this argument goes, and you cause a “fundamental change of circumstances” or a “material breach” under international law governing treaties. So, legally speaking, other states can take the view that you have quit the EEA.

Legal challenges
All very confusing. We may soon find out who is right, though. The pro-single market group, British Influence, is seeking a judicial review focused on the government’s EEA position. British Influence would like the Article 127-is-needed view to prevail (and parliament to then refuse to consent to Article 127 notice and the UK to live happily ever after – or at least for a very long time – in the EEA).

There are UK law issues here too. And political issues. The Supreme Court is currently weighing up a legal challenge brought by Gina Miller regarding whether or not parliament’s consent is needed under UK law to trigger Article 50.

If the Supreme Court say “no”, parliamentary consent will hardly be needed to trigger Article 127 either. That would be the end of the Article 127 story. The government will just give the Article 127 notice and say goodbye to the EEA.

If the Supreme Court say “yes”, then parliament’s consent will be needed for EEA exit too. But here is the catch: parliamentarians may not give it, claiming there has been no referendum on the UK’s single market membership.

Continued EEA membership would have huge consequences for Britain’s economic well-being for generations. So the courts – and potentially parliament too – have weighty issues to ponder. First in the Miller case. And now perhaps in the British Influence case too.


About Today's Contributor:
Gavin Barrett, Professor of Law, Jean Monnet Professor of European Constitutional and Economic Law, University College Dublin

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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