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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 8, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Manager TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Getting the vote out Oakville's fate for the next four years is in your hands on Nov. 13. On that day, registered voters will decide who will be the next mayor and who will represent the Town's six wards at Town Hall and Halton Region. Oakville voters will also help decide who will follow long-time Regional Chair Joyce Savoline, who is stepping down after her current term expires this fall. Finally, local electors will be asked to select school trustees who make important decisions about education in Halton's public and Catholic schools. While some of the 32 Oakville candidates currently registered likely started campaigning months ago, the end of summer has traditionally signalled a sort of unofficial kickstart to the really serious campaigning. It also signals there's less than a month for unregistered candidates to get their nominations filed -- Sept. 29 is the deadline. After that, it will be a short six weeks of door knocking and all-candidates meetings for those seeking your vote in November. So far a trio of candidates want to be mayor -- veteran Mayor Ann Mulvale, second-time challenger Rob Burton and Ward 6 Councillor Janice Wright. At Halton Region, the regional chair's position has attracted two candidates so far, former Oakville politician Gary Carr and Burlington resident Robert Plaschka. Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn announced Wednesday that despite pressure to do so, he won't seek the regional chair's position and will stay at Queen's Park. In most of Oakville's six wards, incumbents are being challenged. So far Ward 1 Town Councillor Ralph Robinson and Ward 2 Town Councillor Cathy Duddeck remain unchallenged, as does Ward 3 Town/Regional Councillor Keith Bird. New faces have entered the race this year, as have some familiar ones who weren't successful at the polls on previous occasions. Elections are prone to meeting poor voter turnout. In 2003, it was conjectured that Mulvale came within 28 votes -- as determined after a court-ordered recount sought by her challenger -- perhaps due in part to voter apathy. For a current list of registered Oakville candidates visit the Town of Oakville's website at www.town.oakville.on.ca. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Peaceful negotiations not possible with Taliban extremists After reading the comments sent in by the NDP rep from Oakville (Change in Afghanistan cannot be made at the point of a gun, Oakville Beaver, Sept. 6) regarding our country's mission in Afghanistan, I felt compelled to answer. Does she seriously think she or any of her Jack Layton lackies could possibly entice the Taliban extremists to sit down and discuss any type of peaceful solution especially with the hated westerners or with a women representative? Has she never read the reports of the Taliban destroying newly-built schools to deny girls and women access to an education? So how do you negotiate with an ideology that not only hates all things Western, supports a twisted view of Islam, denies basic rights and intimidates a people by threats of death in some of the most gruesome of ways, but encourages the drug traffic trade of heroin to finance its operations. She suggests the nation should spend great amounts of taxpayers money to change their ways. Has she not realized that the ways of change she suggests are the very ideals they the terrorists despise. It's very unfortunate that people have short memories when it comes to history and what happens when appeasement is proposed to solve a situation created by a terrorist group that has no respect for the lives of innocents of their own nation. BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Appeasement did not work in 1939 with the result many people and nations suffered not unlike today. During the socalled Cold War in Europe an ideology strived to undermine the democratic process with their often brutal imposing of doctrine opposed to all things Western. I speak from experience as I spent two tours serving in NATO for a total of eight and half years. During that time many acts of terrorism occurred in the name of a so-called ideology that maimed and killed many an innocent. Only the resolve of those in the military willing to use the necessary force prevented a major conflict from occurring. History now shows that this preparedness and will helped to speed the break up a power that was determined to be dominant in the world. Such is the thinking of these extremists today its their way or the highway. They only understand violence as their weapon and to terrorize the weak in will or harmless innocents. From my 25 years of military service I support strongly our forces in their role against terror organizations anywhere. For people to doubt the purpose of our forces is to aid the terrorists. If a terrorist wishes to live by the sword then let him die by a sword, as that is the only negotiation they understand. The NDP should limit their negotiations to the boardrooms with their union cronies and management. J. G. RICHARZ CD. (RETIRED) Pud