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i Yai ae a Tony ren She RR Ro a ASR NEA ELE SANE x 4 i AR ~ On a A PARENTS % i rf! ) oh * ly 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. December 21, 1982 SE 3 - < pA o 2 PRCA EAE RS SORA TAL TE 3 Fag Yo # Saat AN N PAS ERED LY at or 4 \ Te SEPSATAER SL r v AR lib PRLS Ep & aly 3 y PEAT ve fe Krai dd Sedat ~~ o LS - AP 8 Sk So HPA al ERT OIA RH) Frere, the AR) ta ES . . ot 4 + 4 X20 lhe pr breif wing hs aA Ldle PE a a ad [| editorial LF TEA TAR NE h : y 37a i Ch EE CAA ES dr sy ch MITA S XS : , Ce Les We £0 » LA ents oF MELVILLE SUSAN > |W | Jack LUKE chatterbox by John B. McClelland LIVING WITH THE BOMB Try as I might, I have not been able to bring myself to live with the bomb. I have tried to convince myself that Ronald Reagan is right when he says the only road to lasting peace is via bigger and better bombs. I tried to feel sorry for Reagan last week when his plans for dense pack deployment of the MX Missile was scuttled by Congress. But I was glad he lost that one. My fear of the nuclear arms race is not so much that one day some guy in the White House or his counter- part in the Kremlin is going to push the button first and without warning. Though I often wonder what would . happen if another mad-man like Hitler showed up on the world stage with an arsenal of nuclear weapons in- stead of Stukas and Panzers. What is increasing all the time is the risk of a nuclear accident, a mis-calculation, if you will, based on faulty or partial information. Human error will set off the holocaust of nuclear war. It is for this reason that I now feel so strongly about the need for the super-powers not just to stop building new weapons, but reduce the number they already have. If there is going to be a nuclear screw-up some time in the future, rather than a deliberate, pre-mediated at- tack, then at least the potential for total global anihala- tion should be reduced. If the super-powers are still bound and blinded by the ideology of mis-trust and fear, then so be it. And if, as some high-ranking Americans believe, that eventually there will be a military showdown with the Soviet Union, then let them believe that. And let them have their showdown with conven- tional weapons that won't wipe out two billion innocent people in the process. As long as nuclear arsenals remain at their present size (or get larger) the world just won't have a chance when they go off, either by accident or design. The critics of the '"peaceniks" of the 1980s like to paint them as naive idealists, chicken-livered cowards who don't understand the realities of international rela- tions. They like to paint them as fools soft on the military in general who have some quaint notion that the human race will some day get rid of all weapons and live hap- pily in peace for ever and ever. It's a neat tactic, but it just won't work, anymore. The fact of the matter is the Sis Hilear movement is ining in credibility as respec entists, physicians, do writers, entertainers and level-headed ra- tional people from all walks of life join the ranks. Some of the critics like to paint the "peaceniks" of the 1980s as being manipulated by pro-Communist subversives at work inside Canada and the United States. . That too, is a neat tactic, but it went out of fashion with Joe McCarthy in 1952. The people who are starting to speak out against the un-checked build-up of nuclear weapons are too bright and pragmatic to believe the crock of manure coming from the Pentagon, Ronald Reagan's White House, or those silly right wing fringe groups who see Commies hiding under every bed in America. The notion that without a strong nuclear arsenal in America, the Russians would gobble up Europe and then launch an invasion armada across the Bering Sea is also absurd. ' The Russians are having all kinds of trouble with their own satellite states of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslavakia, East Germany and Roumania. The Red Army has spent two years trying to conquer Afghanistan, a tiny country right on the doorstep. How would it fare trying to conquer Europe or North America? Answer that, if you can. And don't forget there are several million Chinese troops along the eastern border of the Soviet Union who would move quickly if the Russians launched a westward attack. I'm not so silly as to believe the world is suddenly going to put down all its weapons. Nor do I believe that non-nuclear countries like Canada should abandon their military. On the contrary, I support the up-grading of our armed forces and military capabilities. But what I will never support is the un-bridled development of nuclear arsenals. Surely it is in the best interests of both the Americans and Russians to reach an accord to stop development or even reduce the present numbers. Here in Canada, our government is ignoring the pleas of many Canadians and pushing ahead with plans to allow the U.S. to test the Cruise Missile in northern Alberta. The Liberal Government says testing the Cruise is part of our commitment to NATO and the defense of North America. We could say "no" and see if NATO kicks us out. The point is that somebody, somewhere has to be the first one to say "no." They have to say we have enough big bangers, or better still, we don't need as many as we have now. It all comes down to a question of global survival. Are we prepared to continue to gamble that there will not be a "nuclear mistake?" Are we prepared to live with the prospect that once the buttons are pushed, it will be too late? I'm prepared to live with the continued threat of war, even with the reality that there may he another global war. But I can't accept a war without survivors. And that's the bottom line for me. v Oh, yes. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New ear, Birdseye Pool Let us hope that the Township Works department is successful in its efforts to repair Birdseye Pool so that the facility meets the requirements of the Health Depart- ment and can be used once again by the community this summer. Scugog council has given the authorization for the Works department to proceed with repairs this winter at a cost of about $14,000, if the Health department agrees the work will bring the Pool up to standards. The Health department has not been too pleased with the condition of the pool in recent years, and in fact has issued a report calling for its closure unless it can be brought up to standard. There is no question that Scugog Township needs a swimming pool to provide summer recreation and lessons for the youngsters. Lake Scugog, as we all know is not a very nice.place to go swimming. However, the cost of replacing Birdseye Pool with a new facility would cause shudders among members of council, especially in these times of necessary restraint. The idea of an indoor pool is simply out of the : question for Scugog Township. It is not so much the building of an indoor pool that causes financial grief, but _the yearly operating costs would be too much for a small community. : Let's hope that with the repairs, Birdseye Pool can get a new lease on life. It would be a pity for the Township to lose that facility because it will be a long time before the council approves money for a replacement. Foreign Ownership A report from the provincial Agricultural Ministry shows that in the last two years, some 57,000 acres of "Ontario land has been purchased by or on behalf of foreigners. Much of it is good farmland. Responding to questions from the Opposition, On- tario Agriculture Minister Dennis Timbrell is reported to have said foreign ownership is not much of a problem and he plans no legislation to control it. He could be right. After all, the 150,000 acres of On- tario land currently owned by foreign individuals or com- panies represents just one per cent of Ontario farmland. The obvious question of course, is just when does foreign ownership start to become a problem: when the - number reaches five or 10 or 20 per cent of the land? Jack Riddell, the Liberal farm critic in the Legislature is concerned that if the foreign ownership trend con- tinues un-checked it will lead to deterioration of rural communities, make farmers "feudal tenants,' and in the long run result in higher food prices. Ontario farmland happens to be a very attractive form of investment for foreigners, many of whom are looking for safe, long term shelters to put their money into. There have been stories of wealthy investors pay- ing three and four times the market value for Ontario farms. : ._ Foreign ownership and control of any natural resource can present problems. And there is no more basic resource than the good land on which we depend for the majority of our food. We think Mr. Timbrell, who has been in his new port- folio just a short time, had better re-think his position that foreign ownership of farmland is not a problem in Ontario. The Provincial government should be taking steps to tighten up the rules on just who can buy, own and con- trol the farmland in this province. As the ad jingle says: "Good things grow in On- tario."" Let's keep it that way. "Alice, did you leave the oven door open?" ilps LSE Eng A