To join or not to join?
EARLIER THIS MONTH in Kelowna, B.C., a gang-related shooting left locally famed gangster Jonathan Bacon dead, a known Hells Angels member wounded, and another woman paralyzed. Reflecting on public response to the assassination at the Delta Grand Hotel, Kelowna columnist Barry Gerding wrote: “Surely, anyone wanting to join a gang would realize their long-term future prospects for promotion are bleak—they face either a lengthy prison term or being shot either by a rival gang or the Mafia-style in-house cleansing when a change of command occurs.” Is joining a gang as dangerously pointless as Gerding suggests, or could there be some sound reason behind the choice to enlist?
Fair dumping grounds?
IN THE PAST two weeks, rumours have come to light claiming teen pop star Selena Gomez ended her relationship with the Biebs due to her dislike of his close friendship with hip-hop artists such as Chris Brown, Usher, and Sean Kingston. Is it fair to end a relationship because you aren’t into your partner’s friends, or is this a downright diva move?
Beaten to the punch
MITCH WINEHOUSE, FATHER of the late singer Amy Winehouse, thought of a way to turn the tragedy of his daugh-ter’s death into something positive. He set out to start a charity to aid people in need of rehabilitation care who either cannot afford the price of a live-in institution or are stuck on lengthy waiting lists. Too bad for daddy, several people unrelated to his charitable endeavour made a point of registering not only the charity name he had hoped to use, but also several domain names using his hoped-for moniker, barring father Winehouse from the ability to establish his charity as expected. Should these citizens have the right to register charities they have nothing to do with, or should they have to prove involvement and active intention to raise money for a charitable cause before they can purchase the name?
—Jaclyn Lytle
