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Page 10 THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday Ma 1991 Editorial Touchy subject Viewed in terms of an exercise in public relations or even as a Canadian flagwaving junket our steamed Prime Ministers Far East foray might best be describ ed as an unmitigated disaster Not only did Baffle Baloney as he is referred to in increas ingly larger circles raise the ire of Ontario Premier Bob by somehow insinuating Ontarios deficit into the proceedings but by playing partisan politics on an international stage he also in sulted Canadians who would prefer not having their dirty laun dry aired in public Once again good old led with his jaw while his brain was in reverse He also insulted his hosts in both Hong Kong and Japan by assuming he knew of their con cerns and went public- with them leaving his hosts in the embar rassing position of having to coverup for our Prime Ministers own What a man Write your memoirs Brian Ive got a minute to spare to read your life story One item of significance did emerge from the trip and that was the apology issued by Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu for the abuse Canadian Prisoners of War suf fered at the hands of the Japanese during World War In bis official apology the Japanese Prime Minister said We have shown contrition we feel very rigorously contrite I express my apologies for the unbearable sufferings and the mat were caused by the Japanese state against the Cana dian people who experienced such sufferings in the Asian Pacific at the hands of the Japanese state Not good enough Its just empty words said Cliff head of the Canadian War Amputations and a World War veteran His feelings were echoed by John Stroud a former prisoner and national president of the Hong Kong Veterans Association representing approximately 700 surviving Its easy to say youre sorry but what did they say about com pensation Mr Stroud is quoted as saying upon hearing of the Japanese Prime Ministers apology Mr Stroud was referring to the suit Mr has taken before the United Nations deman ding the Japanese government pay a lump sum payment of to the surviving exPoWs or to the families of former PoWs now deceased as compen sation for mistreatment suffered at the hands of their Japanese captors Difficult as it might be for me to write this I dont know if Im in total agreement with their cause The issue is also a personal one for me as my father was interred for three years by the Japanese and presently resides in the Veterans Hospital in London I have discussed the issue of compensation with him before and he waves it off with a shake of his head was a professional soldier he has stated The Japs took me prisoner just as we had taken them prisoner when we caught up with them In wartime there are no rules Its survival of the fit test Let whats in the past re main in the past As the son of a former Japanese I have seen the scars both physical and mental my father bears because of his mistreatment at the hands of the Japanese I have also helped him through frightening flashback incidents and terrors still lurking in his mind But what amount of money will bring back his lost youth his comrades his sense of comfort with the world No amount ever will Strangely enough my father has never expressed hatred for the Japanese They were doing their job he notes Values and value systems go the board in wartime as the re cent Gulf War helped to em phasize In a similar vein it seems to me when you put a dollar value on a man or womans death it somehow demeans the sacrifice That the Japanese mistreated prisoners there is no doubt Official acknowledgement of this fact is now on record Is there really any need for monetary compensation I think not As I see it anyway Poets Corner ITS A LIVING 1 remember when was writing he said she stopped listening she knew that story already he might as well have said when was drinking or when was a junky writing is a simitar addiction an expensive one years ago gave up saying Im a writer when people asked what she did for a living In the real world nobody ever understands anything published nab money hah no materialistic body In their right mind would choose to be a writer you dont even have to be good to be a writer you dont have to make money you just have to write and believe me you have to so ask me again what do to make my living to make my life my answer Im a writer By Acton TIMELESS LOVE I feel If Id you In a different time and place Your voice sounds so familiar And I seem to know your face Your arms around me bring back memories Of a love we shared together Time has somehow passed us by But our love goes on forever B Brooke Acton FRIENDS In your hands you hold my happiness you dont even know You think of me with friendship But 1 passed that long ago I cannot share with you the love I feel for you today For if I said I love you I know youd back away Id rather have you as a friend Then have you not at all And youll hurt me In the end Ill love you most of all BBrooke Acton The Halton Hills HERALD Home Newspaper of Halton Hills Established 1666 A Division of Canadian Newspaper Company Limited Street Georgetown Ontario 3Z6 K ROBERT Publisher and General Manager 8772201 Ban CLASSIFIED Joan II Shir arlaaop CIRCULATION Mad Shad bolt a cecum SUBSCRIPTION BATES Copt III HUM 1 monlha ill I SO iruaa month Kg Tha Kara Id claim copy Is hi on all original nawt and malarial by 111 amptoyaaa and publlihad In National It SI Toronto Ontario or 40 Calhcarl SL MonlnaL Tha agraa hall not ba for at arrora In bayonet amount paid lot actually by portion lha In which arror auch arret lo lha I la or and full ba no IKblUty tor Imarllon any Monarchists to the forefront It all came to a head one day last week First Torontos National Newspaper ran an opinion piece suggesting Canada cut its ties with the monarchy Then Stephen Lewis said the same thing on Morningside And then British MP Tony tabled a parliamentary bill calling for the monarchys outright abolition Well In the face of such outrage there was just one thing to say So I said it Jeeves I said gravely Go down to the stables and fetch the horsewhip Still the point must be made Its time for of us who re main staunch monarchists to stand up and state our position clearly We are not amused Now granted the monarch is not a perfect institution History teaches us that After all monarchs are human For every Alfred the Great in English history there was at least one Ethelred the Unready Ethelred won his nickname because he was invariably useless in a crisis a trait which is of course utterly unknown among modem democratically elected leaders Monarchs always had the un- habit of enraging the peasantry with new and ridiculous taxes another tenden cy which has been rectified in 1991 But the monarchy has a lot of accomplishments to its credit too For hundreds of years for in stance kings and queens had a proud history of responding to fiscal crises by locking the Chancellor of the Exchequer up in the Tower of London Think about it It has poetry And its such an appealing alter native to raising the bank rate Weirs World by Ian Weir Thomson News Service Admittedly part of my attach- to the monarchy is purely sentimental Ive always been in love with the romance and grandeur of British history Think of Queen Victoria and her famous weddingnight advice to a young niece who had been presured into a political mar riage Close your eyes and think of England Granted we can hear pale echoes of this sort of thing today Brian for instance has recently decided to address the problem of Western alienation which suggests some aide or other advised him Close your eyes and think of Preston Mann ing But its not the same somehow I dont buy the argument that the monarchy is irrelevant to contemporary Canada or even that it serves no practical pur pose In fact if you really want to know the truth my only com plaint is that the modern monar chy doesnt have enough power I dont like to sound unkind But put it this way Who would you honestly choose to lead the coun try if the choices were a any current politician b Queen Elizabeth or Donald Duck Oh a few rabid republicans might vote Duck Both otherwise itd be a landslide Indeed the sad of the monarchy was illustrated by Her Majestys response to the bill recently introduced by the scoundrel Benn According to news reports Benn sent a copy of the bill to Buckingham Palace and Her Majesty sent him back a very courteous acknowledgement of its receipt Just imagine if someone had sent Elizabeth the First such a bill back in the Sixteeth Century Shed have been able to send back a very courteous letter stating Her majesty acknowledges receipt and courteously invites the author of the bill to meet with her at the Tower PS The author is advised not to bring his hat since he will not be needing one much longer Write us a letter The Herald wants to hear from you If you have an opi nion you want to express or a comment to make send us a letter or drop by the office Our address is Guelph Street Georgetown Ontario All letters must be signed Please include your ad dress and telephone number for verification The Herald reserves the right to edit letters due to space limitations