2 Volume 13, Issue 4 OCTOBER, 25, 2006 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andrew Kurjata MANAGING EDITOR Maggie Gilbert PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Tyler Clarke NEWS EDITOR Cameron Orr ARTS EDITOR Tabatha Lundholm PHOTO EDITOR Jennifer Hawke COPY EDITOR Elizabeth Fyles FEATURES AND OPINIONS EDITOR, SPORTS AND CLUBS EDITOR, AND TECH- NICAL ADVISOR Open AD MANAGER Kurt Nicholson WRITERS Joseph Jeffery Jeremy Johnson Anna Gradowska Kristy Da Costa Dana Bellis Amber Richards Cody Willet Ted Morris Kyra Janot Graeme Burvill Corey Wintemute Haakon Sullivan PHOTOGRAPHERS Jesse Haber Mitch Grant CONTRIBUTORS Eric Szeto (CUP) Daniel Hercz (CUP) Andrew Bailey Erin Miller (CUP) Gary Wilson Maya Berizon (CUP) Gareth Hopkins Brian Hastie (CUP) Jorge Cham Devin King Over the Edge is the official independ- ent publishing media of students at the University of Northern British Columbia. As such, it is our mandate to report on issues of interest to students in the Northern Region. We encourage all students, both on the main and regional campuses to submit to Over the Edge. Over the Edge is part of the Canadian University Press network of papers, otherwise known as CUP. CUP is an organization that is entirely owned by member papers, and pro- vides such services as a news wire and advertising to Over the Edge. OFFICE LOCATION 7-219 MAILING ADDRESS 3333 University Way Prince George, BCV2N 4A6 PHONE (250) 960-5633 FAX (250) 960-5407 E-MAIL over-the-edge@unbe.ca Over THE EDGE Michele Legendre and David Arthurs (CUP) Here at Over the Edge, we pride ourselves on being on the cusp of the cultural wave. Though limited to biweekly publications, we still try to bring you the latest in movies, music, and news. So I'm particularly pleased to be one of the first to come up with the idea of putting out a retrospective on 2006. It’s pure genius! Think about it: 2006 was a pretty big year. We had the Olympics, the World Cup, and a Canadian team in the hockey finals. For the first time in over a decade, a Conservative government was at the helm of the Canadian parliament. Around the world, the West was being challenged on what it would accept from democracies, as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the Palestinian Hamas Party all rode populist waves to present sizeable thorns in the sides of US, Canadian, and European leaders. In music, “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley became the first song to hit number one via downloads alone, and pop sounded fresher than ever thanks to Timbaland producing albums by Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. ‘The environment finally broke as a great New Year's resolution! EDITOR’S MESSAGE major political issue, thanks in no small part to the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.’ In fact, truth and semi-truths were all the rage in movies this year, with true-to-life retrospectives like “United 93” and “The Road to Guantanamo” showing the victim's side of things in both the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent US bombing of Afghanistan. Comedy also went the route of DIY, with the biggest draws being larger-than- life characters in real life settings in “Jackass 2” and “Borat.” Meanwhile, UNBC kept on growing. We had the highest enrolment levels in the school's history, and, as this issue reports, managed to maintain our number four spot for the best small university in Canada. We're starting to see the expansion coming our way: the sports centre and the teaching and learning building are taking shape, and this month sees the first fine arts courses to come of the deal with Emily Carr. As one year draws to a close and another begins, it's time to take - stock, Please participate in our First Annual Reader's Poll and let us know what you think the best (and worst) of 2006 was. And after that, flip through our brief retrospective on the events that shaped 2006 for us. And remember to come back to Over the Edge in 2007, because we'll always be leaders. If you want proof, just wait a couple of weeks, I'll bet you everyone starts copying us and publishing their own 2006 retrospectives. But remember, you saw it here first. Happy Holidays! Andrew Kurjata sports editor (free tickets! , opinions oon writers, cle nists, and photographers. Getting more involved makes a Also, keep a look out for postings about our Annual Gen- eral Meeting in January. This is where all the bylaw changes take place, and since you are the owners of the paper, it’s im- portant you have your say in what happens. As always, for more information email over-the-edge@ unbc.ca, Cover by Jennifer Hawke OVER THE EDGE NEWSPAPER. NOVEMBER 22, 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS Editor's Message- This Page Yes. This page. En Somme- Page 3 Mr. Harper goes to Vietnam, Spies in Canada News- Page 4-6 UNBC Best in the West Again, the US Patriot Act Wants You! Sports- Page 7 Rugby, Ringette, and Rock, Paper, Scissors Opinions- Pages 8-9 Patronizing people, environmental law, and end- of-year cramming First Annual Reader's Poll Page 10-11 Have Yer Say on 2006 Feature: The Year in Review Pages 12-13 Communism, Technology, and Snakes ona Plane GAIA- Page 14 Signs of Winter Arts- Pages 15-17 Ba Johnston, Borat, Final Fantasy XII Calendar and Horoscopes-Page 18 See what the month has in store Comics- Page 19 Laugh along, not alone Lists- Page 20 5 Essential Reggae Albums, Top Ten Christmas Songs, and the apocalypse gets hot “A million dollars in it, cold hundreds of G's/ Enough to buy a boat and matching car with ease/ But I'd never steal from Santa, cause that ain't right/ So I'm going home to mail it back to him that night.’