Adam Bemma

Imagine what the world would be like today if John Lennon were still around. It isn’t hard to do. Lennon would have turned 70-years-old on Oct. 9, 2010 and to commemorate his life and work, a “stripped down” version of his 1980 album Double Fantasy was released. Three weeks before Lennon was killed by Mark…

Canada’s entry to the 2011 Oscars couldn’t be a more poignant film. Denis Villenueve’s ‘Incendies’ is exactly what should represent Canadian and Quebecois cinema in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 83rd edition of the Academy Awards, taking place this February. Based on Wajdi Mouawad’s play, Villenueve’s ‘Incendies’ starts off with twins Simon…

Is Quebec the most corrupt province in Canada? That’s the question Macleans magazine tried to address with its most recent cover story, which caused a backlash in the province and calls from the highest levels of “Quebec bashing”. Macleans took a look at why Quebec always seems to be mired in political scandal, from the…

Canada’s long-gun registry will stay. Members of Parliament voted 153-151 in favour of keeping the registry, a relic of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s Liberal government, meant to keep tabs on those who own guns in this country. Always a politically-divisive issue on Parliament Hill, this time around, opposition MPs from rural and urban Canada…

Free speech is the central component to a healthy democracy. In Montreal, it’s being attacked by many who want a video game taken off a website because it’s content may be “offensive” or “in poor taste.” The creators of ‘Dawson College Massacre’ an online flash animation game that states in the introduction to “eliminate all…

The fiery hate speech spewed from a Gainsville, Florida church and their proposed mass Qu’ran burning, in commemoration of Sept. 11, got a stern reaction from the White House, and rightly so. U.S. President Barack Obama called out to those planning to participate, saying the event would act as “a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaida.” The…

Since being back in Canada, I can’t help but reminisce about the adventure I had backpacking through South America. All the countries I visited and people I met along the way will be etched in my mind forever. I’m already planning to go to Central America and backpack from Mexico City to Panama City. What…

I passed through Tayrona National Park in Colombia, entering into Venezuela from Maicao, a sketchy border town that everyone I met traveling told me to avoid. Of course, my sense for adventure took me through it to Maracaibo, Venezuela, where I arrived late that night. On the bus a French girl approached me and asked if…

I entered Ecuador from Peru at “the worst border crossing in South America,” according to Lonely Planet. Once I got off the bus to do my exit formalities in Peru, I quickly noticed how disorganized and terribly slow the service was. Then I entered Ecuador and the formalities were on the other side of Aguas Verdes.…

I admit it. Trekking up Machu Picchu wasn’t as easy as I thought it’d be. It was a painful task and to think if I’d kept up with my traveling partners (a Swiss and Dane) I could have reached the heights of Waynapicchu and had a great view of everything. But I was quite content…