Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 14, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A11 B IG in Japan is a phrase used to describe Western celebrities who have been successful in Japan. It was also a punk band from the 1970s, and it's been the title for several songs and albums. Big in Japan was also the title and theme for the WAG's Art & Soul fundraiser. When a committee of volunteers representing businesses, professions and ethnic communities chose it, the goal was to celebrate Japan's rich culture. In their designs, decor and marketing, they focused on art, architecture, film, music, martial arts and sports, fashion, and cuisine, highlighted by anime, kabuki, origami, karate, judo, sumo, irezumi, sushi, and yes, samurai, ninja, and the geisha - all authentic elements of historical and contemporary Japanese culture. The committee was also looking at contemporary perspectives and the interface with historical Japanese traditions, the West and Canada. Popular culture in Japan not only reflects the attitudes and concerns of the present day, but it also is constantly linking to the past. Many contemporary films, television programs, music and video games came out of older artistic and literary traditions and traditional art forms. Every year, Winnipeg's Folklorama puts together a festival that highlights the best of cultures and nations of the world. Participants dress up in the ethnic attire of their culture, and present through art, music, dance and cuisine what is the best of that culture and heritage. Art & Soul wanted to do the same with Japan - but just for one night. Today, Japanese anime is everywhere, perhaps rivalled only by the international influence of Japanese fashion and design. The revival of martial arts and related Japanese sports is filling community centres across the city. Irezumi, a form of body tattooing, has become hugely popular, particularly in Winnipeg. It's hard to find an opera or theatre company in Canada that is not presenting a production of Puccini's Madame Butterfly or Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado . Katy Perry's recent " geisha" performance at the American Music Awards, while seen as controversial by some, betrays the good and the bad that can come out of a current take on an ethnic theme. Critics and academics debate the power and danger of cultural interpretation and appropriation, confirming there are many issues at stake. With the Big in Japan controversy, we saw good intentions turning into something bad - and we stopped it. When the Art & Soul committee first contemplated the theme, they consulted with members of the Japanese community and others whose work relates to this culture. But what started as an event based on cultural celebration turned into a discussion about what parts of a culture are appropriate to talk about, what parts are authentic, and what parts are targets for appropriation, misinterpretation and racism. And that's when the WAG decided to put an end to it. We have never shied from controversial subjects; we support projects and dialogues that deal with difficult subjects, the most recent examples being Off The Beaten Path and Don McCullin exhibitions, and the Holocaust- era Provenance Research Project. With the controversy surrounding the Art & Soul event, there were certain individuals in the community, including academics and activists, who saw this as an opportunity to bring attention to platforms related to their own work and interests, and issues in our society. The WAG saw this as an opportunity for dialogue. Tweets and Facebook posts multiplied, and quickly there were calls to cancel the event. While many of the comments had little to do with the actual theme of the event or the aims of the committee; we still felt it was best to drop the theme completely. The WAG does not support activity or commentary associated with racism in any form. Through the process, we communicated with those leading the charge against the event and sought their advice. These conversations, along with discussions involving WAG, led to the decision to cancel the Big in Japan theme. A media release went out along with an apology to anyone who might have been offended. But the story doesn't end there. We hope there will be an opportunity for the WAG to facilitate more discussions about these issues, using the visual arts to help inform and lead the dialogue. The WAG a dynamic place for people to exchange ideas within an environment centred on art and artmaking; and we are grateful to those in the community who stepped forward to voice their concerns and support. What are the lessons learned for the WAG? Cultural appropriation is a topic with a wide range of views, but it's a topic that we feel should be addressed. Partnering with an official body that represents the culture, and giving a voice to their leaders, allows for authentic voices to be heard. The WAG can do better in this engagement as we strive to hold ourselves to the highest standard. Finally, there is a new theme for this year's Art & Soul. It's Hot & Cold: 4 Seasons at the WAG. Given the kind of winter we've been having, I think it might be all cold! Stephen Borys is director and CEO of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Winnipeg Free Press Friday, February 14, 2014 A 11 POLL �� TODAY'S QUESTION How are you responding to all the snow this winter? �� Vote online at winnipegfreepress. com �� PREVIOUS QUESTION Should the federal government adopt income splitting for families? TOTAL RESPONSES 3,500 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 VOL 142 NO 95 2014 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204- 697- 7000 BOB COX / Publisher PAUL SAMYN / Editor WFP JULIE CARL / Deputy Editor SCAN TO VOTE ON TODAY'S QUESTION T HE determination of Ukraine's protesters to stand for democracy is like a chapter of the popular Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Dictator Snow, in real life, is a composite of President Viktor Yanukovych and his mentor- dictator, Russia's President Vladimir Putin. As in the book, they precipitate to- the- death human struggles - games - in order to maintain control over an already oppressed population. Putin has been meddling in Ukraine since he helped Yanukovych get elected, intending, through him, to annex Ukraine and create Russkij mir , one Russian world. The demonstrators - read Katniss, the heroine of the book - are fighting back with EuroMaidan. They want both independence from Russia and good government at home. The former colonel's approach follows standard practices, which Putin acquired at the KGB. First, create chaos where you want to rule then oppress the population, introduce fear, force a crisis and, finally, take over by offering " salvation" from the opposition now called right- wing extremists, mobsters and terrorists. Putin's aggression in Ukraine has been escalating. He gained expanded control for foreign policy, defence and security ministries. Hateful anti- Ukrainian propaganda bombard the media in both countries and in the West to discourage support for the opposition. Currently, the most dangerous tactic is the insinuation Russia must be part of the resolution of the crisis, despite having had a heavy hand in destabilizing Ukraine by pressuring Yanukovych to drop progress to Euro integration at the 11th hour. Throwing the fox among the chickens is not the way out of Ukraine's crisis. As was the case under the former USSR, however, Western- grown neo- Russia apologists like Stephen Cohen, Dmytir Simes or underinformed pundits like Patrick Buchanan are Russia enablers. They snarl at the U. S. to stay out of Ukraine's internal affairs, allowing Russia to advance as a peacemaker, despite ongoing documentation of its hand in the violence since protests began in November and war rhetoric. The marauders, responsible for six deaths and some 240 missing, receive about $ 5 a day for staging anti- EuroMaidan protests; $ 50 for abductions and tortures. In Crimea, where a fiercely pro- Russia puppet heads the regional government, it's a significant $ 1,500, a professional wage. It looks like Russia's special forces are stationed in a sports club some 30 kilometres outside Kyiv and hide behind plain clothes or Ukraine's security uniforms. There are reports of daily reinforcements. Then there's the biker " club" Night Wolves from Russia. They aim to " patrol" Black Sea coastline cities - Sevastopol, Simferopil, Odessa, Mykolajiv - all of strategic naval interest to Russia. The bikers' leader, Olexander Zaldostanov, vows " to protect Ukrainian brothers" from " terrorists." Weapons are involved. Zoldostanov is Putin's personal friend: They bike together. What about the $ 15- billion " loan" Putin offered Yanukovych? Ukrainians see it as a means to ensnare their country, to make it ever more dependent on Russia. So far, there's been little money. The interest rate on the loan is renegotiated every three months; Russia has exclusivity of supply. Apparently, there is no document, just a verbal agreement. The big question is who will benefit? People like Yanukovych and Mykola Yanovych Azarov, the prime minister who resigned in an effort to mollify protesters, have profited handsomely from political office. They top lists of those with immense wealth in EU countries, including Austria where Azarov's wife has fabulous holdings. He flew there immediately after resigning from office. The deal relinquished Ukraine's Kerch peninsula, granting Russia highly desirable warmwater ports and strategic access to the Mediterranean and beyond. ( Recall the annexation of Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia.) The one- sided deal allows Putin to literally turn off the heat in Ukraine by cutting gas supplies. Ukrainians fear they will " freeze like mice" in centrally heated apartments. They have experienced genocide by Kremlin before. This current scenario evokes the cataclysmic scenes of 1933- 34, when some 10 million Ukrainians were starved for resisting Russification and collectivization. The faminegenocide is reflected in the Hunger Games title. Today's Kremlin despot has the means to mass- kill again. It can. Putin's adviser, Sergey Glazyev, said Ukraine's government is making a mistake by avoiding force to end the EuroMaidan protests. Allowing Russia to precipitate a heat shortage, a violent scenario or weasel its way into a resolution dispute process there assures a bad ending for EuroMaidan, Ukraine and world stability. Russia must bow to democracy not vice versa. The Sochi Olympics were granted to Russia at a time when it was hoped it would move toward more democratic values under Putin. History has proven otherwise. His destruction of Chechnya, democracy in Armenia, annexation of parts of Georgia and hard- fisted government at home do not bode well. The spread of his aggression must stop. Euro- Maidan allows the West to contain Russia's aggression. It is shameful to see EU's reluctance to do just that. Comment writer Oksana Bashuk Hepburn, former president of U* CAN Ukraine Canada Relations Inc.. is a frequent elections observer in Ukraine for the Organization for Security and co- operation in Europe. Putin's meddling in Ukraine sinister Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. OKSANA HEPBURN STEPHEN BORYS J IM Flaherty's 10th federal budget represents the dominance of expediency and opportunism over ideas and values in modern politics. The 2014 federal budget increases spending on infrastructure and dishes out a few small goodies to interest groups but holds the line on spending overall. Throw in another new highly specific ( read: cheap) tax credit, this time for volunteers and reduce the deficit a bit more, all while continuing on the slow but inexorable road back to a balanced budget. In other words, this budget is almost exactly the same as last year's, and as if to illustrate this dearth of ideas, the key message of this year's budget wasn't anything in the document itself, but that next year's budget will be in surplus. It's been very well publicized for several years the government intends to balance the books in 2015, just in time for the next election. A political masterstroke, perhaps, to signal this fact so far in advance, not only to blunt any claims it's an election ploy, but also to reduce any expectations on the government in the meantime. It has also allowed the government to argue it is taking the middle, and therefore the implied moderate, path by being responsible and balancing the budget eventually, without cutting too hard or too fast - a neat way to avoid criticism from both sides. But a position or choice is not automatically right because it happens to fall in the middle of three possible options - for that you need ideas and guiding principles. So, how exactly did we get to the point where balancing the budget in the last year of a government's term, as a political ploy, is considered a success? A balanced budget should be the absolute minimum we require of a government - the starting point for all other policy discussion. Every dollar ' invested' into the economy by the government is a dollar they must first remove from the economy through taxes or monetary policy. The multiplier effect describes wider economic benefits of government spending, but ignores the wider economic harms multiplied through the economy of the taxation and borrowing needed to fund that extra spending. Billions of dollars spent on infrastructure are concentrated into a few projects that are hugely visible and win votes, while the job losses that come from the higher taxes and borrowing they necessitate are dispersed over the whole economy or lost in the noise of the recession statistics - one job here and there, but they all add up. Overall, government spending only works in a recession if you think governments are more careful spending tax dollars than individual citizens are at spending their own money, and people generally don't believe this unless the government is spending tax dollars on them. Yet, when asked, during a post- budget interview, what he'd learnt in his time in office, Flaherty replied - " I really don't think there's a place in democracies for ideological position taking." And what would he do with the surplus once it's achieved next year? - " I don't know." The man who hated the very thought of deficits, and a conservative government, reduced to drifting in the wind - the ultimate triumph of politics over ideas. A government that, at the first sign of economic trouble and poor polls that might cost them reelection, abandoned the ideas of balanced budgets and only spending what the government collects, adopting big- spending Keynesian investment policies instead - seeming oblivious to the idea such policies are themselves just another kind of ideology. Unfortunately, the hundreds of billions in new debt racked up while the government talked about balanced budgets in the future is only part of the cost. What price can we put on a culture where abandoning one philosophy for another completely opposite set of ideas, is described and lauded as abandoning all ideology? What do we lose when politicians are encouraged to change their views to suit whatever people want to hear, or whatever polls are telling them to say? Let's hope next year's budget takes some risks and puts something new on the table, so the election can be the battle of ideas the public deserves. Peter McCaffrey is a policy analyst for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy where he conducts research on a wide variety of municipal, provincial and federal public policy. By Peter McCaffrey Balanced budgets should be a given Why the WAG cancelled its event Yes, it's a great idea. 34% No, the country can't afford it. 20% The government should cut everybody's taxes. 46% A_ 13_ Feb- 14- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A11 2/ 13/ 14 8: 53: 17 PM ;