THEVOICE | 6 Admit it, BDS is legitimate I am puzzled by accusations of dis- crimination levelled at the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Roger Waters, in advance of his show at Rogers Arena last week, spoke of his support for the three-pronged econom- ic and cultural boycott of Israeli goods and services known as BDS. Waters was accused of boy- cotting based on nationality, a rac- ist act according to critics. Aidan Fishman of B’nai Brith said that by targeting Israel, BDS advocates, like Waters, are OPINION anti-Semitic and ————— make Israel anex- JENNIFER ceptional target of WILSON international pres- sure. In fact, in 2016 the Canadian Par- liament passed a motion to condemn BDS which, it said, demonized Israel. The morality of any economic action is a matter for personal opinion, but claims of illegitimacy based on Israeli exceptionalism are logically inconsis- tent. The hole in this argument lies with precedent; there is a clear international precedent for targeted economic pres- sure. Canada currently holds economic sanctions against 19 countries includ- ing Syria, North Korea and Zimba- bwe. These sanctions are justified on the Government of Canada website on “Logically it is possible to be firmly pro-Israel...and yet still acknowledge BDS” the basis of human rights violations. The sanctions imposed affect ordinary citizens because this is what sanctions and boycotts do; they employ austerity to push nations and institutions to the brink of negotiation. Israel has pushed back hard against an easing of U.S. and United Nations sanctions against Iran. The Israeli targeted economic block- ade of Gaza, another example, has pushed the strip to an “unlivable” hu- manitarian crisis according to the UN General Secretary, Anténio Guterres. ‘These sanctions include restricted movement, goods imports, water sup- ply and fishing rights. Israel defends its right to economically cripple Gaza based on security. What makes Israel exempt from targeted political pressure is unclear, unless Israeli exceptionalism is at the heart of the critique of Israeli exceptionalism. Logically, it is possible to be firmly pro-Israel, politically and morally, and yet still acknowledge BDS as a legiti- mate form of activism. The Israeli and Canadian governments do recognize the targeted use of boycotts, divestment and sanctions as tools of political nego- tiation, they just don’t like them being directed at Israel. THURSDAY, NOV. 2, 2017 | EDITOR SYDNEY MORTON Bunnies and furry friends rejoice with the hare raising medical breakthrough of Cannabidiol Perrin GRAUER ILLUSTRATION Eh...whats up, doc? veryone should have the right to a holistic approach when it comes to medica- tion, even bunnies. Can- nabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis, gives pet owners the op- portunity to help their furry family members. CBD is a safe medication ID, which alleviates OPINIO the worry of harm- —_—_——— _ ful side effects that SYDNEY prescription drugs MORTON © warn of, such as ulcers, liver or kid- ney damage, vomiting, diarrhea and the list goes on. This is the answer pet owners have been looking for when it comes to expensive vet bills and sky-high rent prices. Desperate Vancouverites would have been forced to surrender their pet to the SPCA or seek euthanization if they are terminally ill. CBD is an inex- pensive option. Thirty capsules will set back a pet owner $30 whereas the aver- age vet bill begins from $100 to $250 and higher depending on what the vet needs to do to confirm the diagnosis of your animal. Humans have used CBD to treat a variety of ailments in animals from pain and inflammation to cancer. “Cannabis is medicine,” says Dr. Tum Shu, a practicing Veterinarian from California in an article by Can- nabis Culture. “As with all medications, quality, safety, and efficacy are the most important factors. As veterinary profes- sionals we formulate our products with those key factors in mind. Formulation and dosing for animals is important as their sizes and conditions can vary greatly.” Using CBD as the miraculous cure that will change your pet’s quality of life drastically without any harm to them is the key to spending more of what lim- ited time we already have with our pets. But owners cant be irresponsible and just feed any kind of marijuana to their ailed pets. Do your research and consult a vet to learn the proper dosing for the size and state of your pet so you don’t do any further harm. A pet's soul purpose is to love us, so be responsible with their health so they can love you forever. Viewpoints Dont go fishing in the online dating pool veryone has heard of the ancient E metaphor “there’s plenty of fish in the sea,” but there’s a point where the fish analogy needs to stop. Meeting the love of your life should not involve casting a net into an ocean and pulling up whatever hopeless creature gets entangled. The website datenova. com is taking a modern stance to speed dating, us- ing the internet as a tool to meet sin- gles at an efficient rate. The website is unique in that Ki , it helps the online daters to create OPINION their own speed —————— dates by asking DANICA people they have WALKER matched with on these apps to meet in one place, creating a personalized speed date event. Hopeless romantics should be in mourning. Dating has become more like a chore that we tick off our to do list with the help of apps and websites and technologies have been created to make dating easier. Instead, they have made it impersonal and detached. Since when has dating become about the convenience of a private message instead of a meaningful conversation about life? In an article in the New York Times titled First Comes Tinder: Then Comes Marriage? Jennifer Lundquist, a sociologist at the University of Mas- sachusetts, Amherst who researches online dating, points to an anecdotal belief among many daters that Tinder’s picture-based feature leads it to be a “hookup” app rather than a mechanism for finding long-term partners. Speed dating is not a new concept, and neither is online dating, but when the two get merged we are left with a society that spends more time on their phones than with people in real life. Gone are the days where meaningful connections can be made between people on a bus. Ev- eryone’s eyes are now down. Attraction cannot be forced, so why is it socially acceptable to thrust ourselves into an environment where we feel compelled to make a connection. Yes, attraction is instantaneous and exciting but is it appropriate to make a decision on someone after knowing them for a few minutes? Perhaps we need to stop being so dismissive in order to make a con- nection with someone, and give people a chance to be more than a selfie. We want to hear from you Have a different point of view? Write to us. Have a concern with something we've said? Let us know. Think we got a fact wrong? Tell us. Journalism instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email: ebulman@langara.be.ca The Voice is pub- lished by Langara College’s joumalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and are independent of views of the student government and administration. We welcome letters to the editor. They may be edited for brevity. Your letter must in- clude your name and phone number. HOW TO DROP-IN REACH US Room A226 Langara College PHONE 604-323-5396 SNAIL MAIL The Voice E-MAIL 100 West 49th Ave. thevoice@langara. Vancouver, B.C. be.ca V5Y 226 WEBSITE MANAGING EDITOR langaravoice.ca Duncan Anderson- PAGE EDITORS PAGE 6 PAGE 1 Sydney Morton Rica Talay PAGE7 PAGE 2 Sasa Lakic Duncan Anderson PAGE 8 PAGE 3 Evan Hagedorn Jason Gilder PAGE 4 MANAGING Kurtis Gregory WEBSITE PAGE5 EDITOR Laura Brougham Cass Lucke WEB EDITORS Trevor Nault Shoji Whittier Lisa Tanh Sasha Zeidler Myra Dionne Violetta Kryak Natalia Buendia Calvillo REPORTERS Nick Valka Allison Hayes Perrin Grauer Ana Rose Walkey Becca Clarkson Danica Walker Jennifer Wilson Lindsey Lloyd CONTACT US Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter @LangaraVoice