eoea res

aes

Wednesday, January 30, 1991

‘Letters to the Editor :
We need to find out more ...

a one se : Iraq. I learned that Saddam Hus- deeply with this point. If you
Ray one | + January 25, from _sein came into power in 1979, and’ Want to get involved in somethin,
even Sicafried. ‘Sho vail ce call 14 f Hoe until 3:00, MSSS held a pulled Iraq through the Iran-Iraq you have to watch for local active
‘on, But ice ea RE : Gace Conference to discuss the war, Whether you believe that ties, or, better yet, organize some
When, by benevole! Grisis in the Middle East. We had was good or bad is entirely your thing on your own,
g {wo people come to speak and own decision. Frank algo told us Another point made by Herb
Pawer some of our questions. of how Husscin had tested some was the fact that the next war we

The Castlegar Sun

OPINION

WY
The Casticgar Sun

ai INS
JON JARRETT
PUBLISHER ADVERTISING MANAGER:
NANCY LINGLEY DONNA JORY
EDITOR ADVERTISING REP,

Letters Policy

Letters to the Editor are welcome on any topic of local or general
interest. Letters should be double-spaced, typewritten, or. legibly hand-
written, and no more than two pages if possible, Letters will be edited in |:
the interests of brevity or taste if necessary. All letters must be signed,
with address and telephone number, although names may be witheld |:
from publication for valid reason by the approval of the editor, Send |.
letters to: The Castlegar Sun, 465 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C.,
VIN 1G8, or drop them off at the office,

These comments made me
believe that we' must work even
harder to find world peace and
hold on to it. One point Mr.
Buchanan made was— “ peace is
an abstract thing...” “it comes
from inside...”

only partially a work of science fic-
tion and (d) the text of the speech to
be delivered that night to the Moose’
Jaw Chamber of Commerce, ‘
It’s a Jaw and it has a corollary:
you will receive scant attention and

Clarence, the resident class nerd, twit

: g any naked
with the family physician — the one
who's been kneading and needling

RAY Picco :
i Jeffels

B Syndicated

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OFFICE MANAGER ADVERTISING REP.

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editorial comment

Promises, Promises

Last night, the Premier of B.C. kicked off his next
election campaign.

He did this, at no cost to his political party, under
the guise of a “State of the Province” address.

In what can only be described as an election plat-
form, Bill Vander Zalm laid out his ‘12 point pro-
gram.”

We, the taxpayers and voters, were promised
everything but the moon and one has the feeling that
may number 13 not too far down the road. If he
thought it would do him any good.

Among the 12 points were:

-A freeze ‘on taxes, obviously the knee-jerk reac-
tion that should gain brownie points so soon after the
implementation of the incredibly unpopular federal
GST, was at the top of the list.

-Close behind was a promise to freeze the salary
and benefits of members of the government and
senior officials, another obvious plum offered to the
voting public. who is certain that their elected offi-
cials are overpaid.

-A promise of budgeting government spending
tied to the average rates of growth in the economy
over the next three years. Guess who's supposed to
be in charge of that one? For the next three years.

-A major bribe to the forest industry of a $1.4 bil-
lion ir
years of work, spread over the next five years. Do we
See a pattern emerging here?

-A new referendum act. Everybody's chance to
have input into government decisions. Something,
technically speaking, already available to a demo-
cratic society.:

This package was obviously aimed at getting Bill
Vander Zalm past the opposition of the voting public.
Tt might work with those who believe that fairy god-
premiers do exist.

But will it get him past his own party?

A Little Knowledge

1)What is Great Britain’s last colonial possession in Europe?
2) What are the two large rivers in Iraq?

| 3) Which is further north, Moscow or Ottawa?

4) What is the name given to that type of animal which car-
ties its young in pouches?

5) What is agoraphobia?

Answers

1) Gibraltar, which has flown the British flag since 1704.

| 2) Tigris and Euphrates,

‘| 3) Moscow, which is at about 56 degrees North, compared to
Ottawa’s 45 degrees North.

4) Marsupial.

5) The fear of wide open spaces.

BARS

By Don Addis

ion prog’ providing 64,500 man *

Columnist

That friend of mine — a mathe-
matician with a rye (sic) sense of
humor and more than a passing affec-
tion for scotch — took savage delight
in deflating my pomposity.

Whenever I tumed haughty and
raved on about the certain death of
the English language and therefore
the inevitable end of civilization, he'd
raise a cup and an eyebrow and invite
me to cite Newton’s Third Law of
Motion, I said he was savaget

1 couldn’t: I’m a practising scien-
tific illiterate, always have been,
always will be. It was his quiet way
of teaching me tolerance, compassion
and humility. It was also his way of
saying: “Ah shud up, already! You.
"Use your Roget to fill in appropriate
but impolite adjectives and epithets.

To my everlasting shame I still
can't quote Newton's Third, But in
the course of a long and therefore
misspent life, I’ve discovered certain
other immutable laws of nature which
really ought to be made known to the

Here are a few and I don’t expect the
Nobel Prize for Physics, Just a sub-
dued asterisk, a quiet foomote and a
marginal nod of the head.

The driver who suddenly comets
out of the side street straight into the
Chevy’s path — howl of defiance,
screech of brakes, middle finger raise
in smirking contempt — will always
and inevitably tum right exactly 100
yards down the road.

Not a question of saving time:
question of vaulting ego, cynical
bravado and simian ignorance. That’s
my Third Law of Motion.

Of the three bags loaded aboard
any aircraft in Vancouver or Victoria,
in Montreal or Moncton, the one that
goes missing — permanently, forever,
lost in some black hole in space — will
contain (a) your passport, (b) the final
contract in triplicate for the million
dollar deal, (c) a notarized document
proving that your 1990 tax retum was

Slings
and
arrows

Nigel
Hannaford
Syndicated
Columnist

Somewhere ia Califomia, Ronald
Reagan must be watching the perfor-
mance of the Patriot missile with a
Particular and well-justified sense of
satisfaction. He’s probably.too gen-
teel to come right out and gloat, but
we owe the Patriot to one of his good
decisions. So I'll say it for him. The
Gipper was right,

Ina world full of ‘smart’ bombs and
missiles, the Patriot is a Ph.D rocket.
What it does is ride a radar beam to

Once-great

There was a day, not too many
years ago, when the public galleries
in the House of Commons would
have been filled with spectators as
MPs debated a major world crisis.

But no longer.

At-six o'clock on deadline day, as
the historic debate on the Gulf crisis
droned on, there wasn't a single soul
in the public gallery.

. The zealots had been there earlier,
to stage their protest for the cameras,
but when the. cameras left the

“Protesters left too. They went aczoss as

the street, and marched in front of the
Teaqi embassy, a dozen blocks away?
You guessed it.
Just three Ioncly Mounties, and not

ap in .
But then most of the so-called

little sympathy from the airline's
mining engincers, the ones employed
full-time to create those black holes
in space. And the occasional Bermi-
da Triangle, of course.
When the Class of 1965 of any
university meets to toast old times in
‘new wine, the guy you hated then,
and still do, will be sequentially —
slim, suave, witty, worldly and a
multi-millionaire. You will display
the deep abdominal slouch of failure
and inertia. The acid etchings of age
on your face will resemble the offi-
cial survey map of the roads leading
into Montreal. And you will be
ignored, totally ignored, except by

you for the last 20 years ago —'you
will be told precisely the same things,
in the same order and in the same
voice: high protein; low cholesterol,
abhor the red, dote on decaff, down
with drink, up with exercise,

And no smoking. . . furtively in

the garage, overtly in low bars with ‘

your corrupt friends, You will nod
agreement as you always do and
leave. He will nip out to the fire
escape for a quick fag, a cup of Juan
Valdez and a packet of chips,

Offer hints, bribes, prayers and a
permanent pension to your daughter
and she will still refuse to name the
first-bom after you. She will call it
Larry or Gary, Marshall or Magnus,

The brother who couldn't spell,
read with a wet index finger and

Dior original and wintering on the °
Riviera. So, this is my First Law of
Motion: Siblings are fleet of foot.
They will always farther and faster
than, . . Oh, Jet’s not talk about it!

RAR, Jeffels is a Richmond free-
lance writer and former principal of
The Open Learning Institute. «:

> >
DEEZ, L Hope
R Noon
ECOGNIZE
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DE Arrt'
Re eeu T SAN
IN SolLDIERS
EQUIPMENT

ZY Othe Codleger Son

‘intercept a target that may t~ moving

at a couple of thousand miles per hour.
That’s easy to say but extremely diffi-
cult to do and even more so to do con-
sistently, dependably.

A rocket like the SCUD soars to a
high apogee, to the very edge of space
in fact, then falls like a bathtub full of
bricks back to Earth. It travels very
fast. It can't be shot down by an air-
plane; it would appear that the Patriot
is the only missile that can react
quickly enough to intercept it and to
do that, it uses technology developed
for the gic Defence Initiati:

the time, the critics said that the SDI
technology would never work?

They were quite adamant. Batter-
ies of scientists were rolled out to
engage the president by those who for
whatever reason were opposed to the
Strategic Defence Initiative. Many
people came to share their doubts.

Well, consider the success rate of
the Patriot. The SCUD is actually a
nuclear-capable rocket, rated by the
USSR for a 100 kiloton warbead. Hap-
Pily, Mr Hossein doesn’t have any, but
the Patriot makes no distinctions about

SDI. Ah, yes. Remember Star
‘Wars? President Reagan pushed the
SDI vigorously, reasoning that to pro-

" mucear warhead

ds and if it can engage and
destroy a high explosive warhead on a
SCUD, it can as readily knock out a
falling from an inter-
ballistic missile. :

vide A ica with an
shield against nuclear attack was
morally a more defensible position
than massive retaliation and might
prove less damaging in the unfortu-
nate event. When the history of the
twentieth century is: written from the
20-20 vantage point of about a centu-
ty hence, it may well be recognized
as the last straw which pushed Russia
back into her own borders - the sheer
impossible cost of trying to match
America’s prowess.

But do you also remember that at

Now, there was a lot more to the
SDI than the Patriot and the success of
the Patriot does not of itself prove the
whole system. Still, if the missile
wasn’t working, SDI critics would
have used a line something like,
“Weil, if they can’t even deal with ran-
dom SCUDs, what made them think
they could have handled a mass attack
by ICBMs equipped with multiple
individuall; dis?”

ly targeted
As it is, they can’t say that and the
hit in Tel Aviv notwithstanding, that

part of the SDI technology which has’
been tested in combat’ appears to be
working as advertised.

There is a cogent reason to admit
this and perhaps revive some level of
SDI research.

The reason is this. While the
immediate threat of a massive strike
from the USSR has evidently dimin-
ished, the possibility that the US
might have to deal with a lower level
of threat at some time in the next 50
years is still there. A hostile Mexico,
perhaps. A primitive but deadly mis-
sile-firing submarine contrapted by
some unfriendly country to seek
Tevenge or to spread texror; the need
to protect an ally from similar threats,
How safe would Israel be if Libya
had the bomb? How safe would
Egypt or Italy be?

If the US chose to develop and
deploy sufficient anti-ballistic missile
defence to protect its people from at
least the kind of unsophisticated
attack now being made on Israel and
Saudi Arabia, nobody could accuse it
of trying to destabilize mutual deter-
rence and-it might prove one day to
be a very good investment.

Just as the Patriot looks like a real
winner right now.

Liberals seem rudderless and adrift

debate has been like that, simply
another ity for the Canadi:

UN, and from the NDP's Stanley

left to spew their acid brew of anti-
Americanism,

By simply attacking the U.S. and
refusing to deal with Saddam Hus-
sein’s terrorist record, they become
his silent apologists.

The U.S. is putting its money —
and its most valued treasure — its
young people — where its mouth is
— in opposition to armed aggression.

To paint this brave and gencrous
act, and the cognate actions of our 30-
odd allies as simply a grab for oil, is
an abomination.

The Canadian government has
shown zeal in its attempts to encour-
age a diplomatic solution, and forti-
tude in the face of unrelenting carping
from Canadians who should know
better.

Prim Brain Mul 's

Knowles in support of the decision to
send Canadian troops to fight for the
UN in Korea. :

The once-great Liberal Party,

which led Canada through the Second
World War, and acted with courage
during the FLQ crisis twenty years
ago, now seems rudderiess and adrift.

Jean Chretien, arguably the best

Chretien has allowed the Liberals to
drift that they have adopted exactly
the same isolationist line as the NDP.

humanitarian act of sending a field
hospitai in case it is needed to treat
British and Iraqi wounded.
Newfoundlandeérs make up fully
one-third of all of the Canadian ser-

stump speaker in, the C .
xd uncomfortable in the debate. *
It was as though he didn’t really
believe the script he was reading. ..

Take the issue of sending an addi-'
tional six CF-18 fighters, and.a Boe-
ing 707 to the Gulf.

Sophisticated planes like the CF.

18 require a lot of maintenance, and ..

with only cighteen fighters, there.
aren't enough craft to allow continu-

ous operations. The extra planes per- *;

speech was a good one. Carefully
drafted, it dealt with every. objection
the opposition raised to the govem-
ments action, wee

He quoted for-
mer. Liberal Prime Mintitce Pore
Pearson on the need to'support the

, mit air ge of our three‘naval
vessels around the clock.

Who could oppose anything. 80°" :

laudable as ‘ensuring greater protec-

tion for our forces? ° 5 es
The Liberals “and the « New

: Democrats, that who...) 2
It is a sign ‘of how fart

4

vice. perst in the Gulf, Yet there
was Labrador'MP Bill Rompkey, the
Liberal Party’s defence critic, telling
reporters us ent this action..We
oppose it. It sends the wrong signal.” °
~ Right Bill. Hs
Remember HMS Sheffield? 3,
During the Falkland war, this
British ship was destroyed: with a

“massive loss of life, after being hit

an'Argentinean Exocet
> ¢Ro1

t missile, ‘¢°<.
had bet-
loesn't

Frank Buchanan and Herb Ham.
mond, .

Frank Buchanan refers to him-
self as an amateur historian, He
talked to us about the history of

Thanks Sun for doin

To the Editor: -

On 1990 December 17 I wrote
you.a short, somewhat acerbic
note about careful editing of let-
ters-to-the-editor; I had been pro-
voked into doing this by the
hatchet job done a day or two ear-
lier by your sister journal the Nel-
son Daily News on a letter of
mine it had just published, a copy
of which was under consideration

Light of hope seen by local United Way

To the Editor:

Amid much local uncertainty
about the economy and great con-
cem about the world situation, we

of the gas weapons on his own
people. Prank said that if Saddam
keeps Kuwait much longer he will
use all the resources there to make
more weapons,

by yourself.

It was therefore gratifying to
find that in your next issue you
had printed my letter almost ver-
batim. I say “almost” only because
so far as I could sce a simple typo
had crept in, as these things do -
the figure 4.82 had become 44,82,
@ matter of no consequence since
the context made the error obvi-
ous; and a mistake in spelling

to meeting it’s fundraising goal.
Many in our community are
presently uncertain about their
own fi ial future, but gave

would like to take this opportuni-
ty to thank the whole community
in and around Castlegar, for once
again showing their care and con-
cem for those less than fortunate
in our community.

Again this year residents and
business dug into their pockets
and supported the United Way
Campaign, which came very close

have might be over water or air or
space. I don’t agree that it will be
the next war, I believe it might be
this one. he also said that we must
be responsible for a peaceful way
of living and that “a” peaceful
world starts by learning how to
have a peaceful community.

Kids are
forgiving

To the Editor: :
Thank you for the cookies that

Our second speaker was Herb
Hammond who spoke to us from
an environmentalist point of view.
He told us that to deal worldly we
must deal locally. I agree very

g it right
made by myself. was. corrected by
your staff when someone put in for
me the second “h” which I had left
out of “hemorrhage.”

I have not written this letter
with the intent of having it pub-
lished, but if you do wish fo print
it I will have no objection,

Yours truly,
Fred G. Marsh

Students want settlement

To the Editor:

In light of the current negotia-
tion of a new contract between
Trail Transit and CUPE Local
2087, students of Selkirk College
in Castlegar and Trail urge a
speedy settlement in reaching a
contract without stoppage in ser-
vice,

Many students that attend
Selkirk College depend on the
local transit system for daily

+ transportation to and from the col-

lege and would be significantly
; by a di

ance in service.

The Selkirk Student Society
speaks on behalf of the students
who attend College to ask
that both sides consider the
importance of this service tO stu-
dents.

Yours truly,
John Bird, Ombudsperson,
Selkirk Student Society

you gave us before Chri: We
liked them very much. Every boy
and girl in our class had one.
Also, thank you for putting our
Picture in your paper.
Yours truly,
Mrs. Turner and the P 2’s

ing this “bright light” of hope.

Yours truly
Castlegar and District United Way

what they could

Those who receive services
from the various United Way
agencies will benefit as they have
in years past from the help and
assistance which this community
can truly take pride in.

From all of us within and con-
nected to the United Way, we want
to thank all supporters for provid-

Health report cards due soon

* Central Kootenay Health Unit.
Each report card focuses on the
concemis expressed in one of the
ten specific areas.

Among key concems to emerge

Results from a health survey
conducted by the Central Koote-
vay Health Unit last year will be
coming back to the community as
a four-page newsletter called

Nurses defy sunshine law

By Steve Weatherbe {SNS}
VICTORIA - The B.C, Nurses
Union has defied the new sun-
shine law and refused to disclose
its bargaining position before
serving a strike notice on its
employer, a group of 23 nursing
homes and private hospitals,

According to the Public Sector
c ri fais Wi

Act, passed last year, both employ-

Admiral Yanow said such defi-
ance was punishable by up to six
months in jail and $2,000 fine. He
was seeking legal counsel as to
whether to prosecute, he said. “I

Cc ity Health Report Cards,

The reports are a summary of
findings of the “Together for
Health” survey conducted a year
ago in February.

They'll be mailed out to house-
holds in the area starting late this
month,

. The key part of the condensed

from the survey in Castlegar was
Concem over industrial pollution.

Respondents from the Castlegar
area, for example, expressed con-
cems related to emission standards
and the impact of pollution on the
environment.

The survey shows the present
of a strong environmentalist feel-

have a q as to wheth

health reports is the ing among those surveyed.

there is any point. It would be sev-
eral months before the matter got
to court.”On the other hand, some
action might be needed as a deter-
rence. He would not, however, be
ing cabinet.

er and employee must discl
their final position and the items
they believe to be in dispute when
they give notice of job action or
lockout. Admiral Robert Yanow,
the act’s registrar, reports that since
the act came into force in Septem-
ber, the parties to 15 contract dis-
putes have complied. “This is the
first time anyone hasn't.”

Admiral Yanow said that the
union had been contacted by letter,
telephone and FAX but had not
responded.

‘The BCNU represents 350 full-
and part-time nurses and 120 casu-
als, BCNU President Debra McPher-
son said that disclosure of demands
‘would hamper the negotiations.

Women and heart disease

‘WINNIPEG (SNS) - Two Univer-
sity of Manitoba professors want to
find out how much walking it takes
for women over 55 to protect
themselves from heart disease.

Elizabeth Ready and Don
Drinkwater of the physical educa-
tion faculty say women frequently
pursue inactive lifestyles,

As a result, they suffer from

two common heart disease risk ©

factors - above normal body fat

and high cholesterol.

The year-long study is partly
financed by a $12,500 grant from
the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle
Research Institute. It will monitor
60 women aged 55 to 80 as they
develop moderate walking exer-
Ready says the first 20 women,

newspapers, will start their Tegi-
mens later this month.

public opinion survey of some
2,300 residents, said Judy Toews
of the Central Kootenay Health
Unit office in Nelson. accidents were named as the single
»; Toews is the project co-ordina- most important cause of pre-
tor. |. ventable deaths, feu
This is in effect a “short The full version of the health
report,” said Toews. “This is a survey are available at the local
kind of snapshot of health con- health unit offices.
cems today in your community,” “The report card cards are to be
she noted. used, not just read,” Toews said,
In the Castlegar area about 220 noting that a personal “Health
people participated in the survey. Check” questionaire will be
he said the mailout is a “snap- attached for readers to fill out.
shot of health” of each of the ten
communities administered by the

The health survey has found
beart disease and cancer to be the
two main causes’ of death. Traffic

an action plan, she said.

The mailout will also include |

A joint program of BC Parks and the BC Forest
Service to shape the future of parks and wilderness

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Parks Minister John L. Savage and Forests Minister
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If you wish to make a formal presentation, please
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Senior Citizen's Hall, W 8th Ave

Material will remain on display at regional locations
after all the meetings. Please send your written
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800 Johnson Street
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For more information, please call the BC Parks or
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