Only six months after escaping from Mexico’s highest security prison through a mile-long tunnel, drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is once again in the news — this time for his recapture and stranger-than-fiction meeting with American actor Sean Penn.

Penn’s Rolling Stone interview set off a media storm, still playing out across news and entertainment pages around the world. Most of those stories leave questions unanswered about the state of Mexican media and what role international press play in covering violence and drug trade in Mexico.

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It’s 8 p.m. on a Friday night in Vancouver. Outside The Whip, a pub off Main Street, the bike rack is already full. Inside are a couple of tables with bike helmets resting next to pitchers or pints of beer. Four hours later, late-night revellers are spilling out of the Cobalt and Electric Owl, two popular live music venues further down the street. It’s not uncommon to see people getting on their bikes and riding off into the night.

Drunk driving may be on the decline, according to recentstudies, but drunk cycling is another story. Many who wouldn’t consider getting behind the wheel after a few drinks don’t think twice before hopping on their bikes. Although it’s difficult to say how prevalent drunk cycling is, there are consequences that are often overlooked.

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Recycling human manure may be the ultimate form of sustainability.

Advocates call it “extreme composting,” and the practice of saving poop to turn it into soil is catching on in places like Los Angeles and Chicago.

Metro Vancouver is sold on it too. This region’s wastewater treatment plants are already recycling human waste. The end product, known as biosolids, is currently being marketed as an unrestricted product that can be used for all types of projects, from mine reclamation to landscaping and even agriculture.

But some experts aren’t so sure about the safety of biosolids in farming, or even as soil for public parks.

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BobbyLee Worm, a 26-year-old aboriginal woman who was held in solitary confinement for more than three years, spoke at a press conference today about the detrimental effects of this type of punishment in Canadian prisons.

In March, 2011, Correctional Service of Canada opted to cancel the protocol that was used to keep Worm in solitary confinement, following a lawsuit Worm filed against the federal government with help from the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA).

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When DOXA started in the year 2000, who knew documentaries would surge in popularity so dramatically?

The festival’s director of programming, Dorothy Woodend, isn’t about to let up. Woodend (who also writes about film for The Tyee) says this year’s edition is all about pushing the boundaries – and that includes showing experimental projects that challenge emotionally and intellectually.

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