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Page 10 THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday January 18 Editorial From the publisher Gulf crisis For most adults we can understand what happened Wednesday evening at 700 pm For most adults we understand what is happening in the world and why the United Nations has taken this final step and drawn our nation into war Prime Minister and the members of parliament have made a most difficult decision and committed our arm ed forces to war Now it is up to our armed forces as a part of the United Nations to rid the world of Saddam Hussein What will happen in the next 72 hours or what the future holds is uncertain at this time But more im portant is how this i affecting our families Our children watch television with awe when they see a young girl or babies placing a gas mask over their faces to protect them from gas and chemicals They listen to and read about the possibility of deadly chemical bombs and terrorism at airports They see Canadians demonstrating for peace and singing songs like Give Peace A Chance and yet the bombs are be ing dropped Now comes the questions Will war come to Canada Will we be bombed Will terrorism take over the world The look of confusion anxiety and fear is real in their eyes Im certain in schools throughout Halton on Thursday these and many more questions were being asked of our teachers As a parent take the time to explain to your children what is happening Maybe you cant really tell them why But at least take the time to assure them that war as they see it on television or read in the newspapers is a long way off and try and alleviate their fears and anxie ty To all the service men and women not only in the United States forces but in the Iraqi forces we hope and pray for a speedy end to this insanity Above all we pray that all our young Canadians now embroiled in war will return home safely Another sorry page And so another sorry page in the recorded history of mankind has been turned with the eruption of hostilities in the Persian Gulf The war which Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had predicted would be The Mother of all wars was initiated Wednesday evening our time by massive bombing raids conducted by planes of the US led forces operating under the sanction of the United Nations As a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces and the son of a former professional soldier in the British Army I can only wish the United Nations allied troops a heartfelt godspeed For the sake of the men and women of the various armed forces I can only hope that the politicians remain in their respective ivory towers and let the military do its Job regardless of the consequences Far too many soldiers have lost their lives due either to the in competence or interference of selfserving politicians My sug gestion to the politicians of various stripes If you want to get involved grab a rifle Other wise stay the hell out Having vented my spleen in this regard I also echo the feel ings of The Hills Heralds publisher Bob Malcolmson on yet another side effect of the Per sian Gulf War the possible traumatic impact it might have on our children When news of the air strikes over Iraq and Kuwait first came over the radio I was in the pro cess of making supper for two young girls whom I was babysit ting for a friend I must admit I froze for a time because the next thing I remember was the nineyearold tugging at my arm asking Whats wrong as her seven- yearold sister hovered nearby For lack of anything better to say to explain my odd behavior I simply offered Were in a war and lot of people are going to die In response to which the seven- yearold demanded Yeah okay But can we still have sup- per Editors Notebook Out of the mouths of babes as the saying goes At that point I turned on the television switched to CNN and promptly completed supper preparations As we ate and with the televi sion barking out reports in the background I attempted to ex plain to the two young girls just what the Persian Gulf war was all about Surprisingly they were already aware that trouble had been brewing in the Middle East and the nineyearold was quick to ask So who is on our team Colin With supper out of the way I sat down to watch the television and it seemed the girls could sense I was somewhat troubled and concerned about what was unfolding in the Middle East I couldnt help but think about the children in Iraq Kuwait and Saudi Arabia who were caught in the middle of the conflict Their world has quite literally been turned upside down and there is nowhere they can run for safety Parents even teachers should take the time to attempt to ex plain to children not only what is happening in the Middle East but also why it is happening More importantly they should also attempt to explain to our children that despite the carnage hopefully lessons will be learned so that we might someday have a more peaceful and safer world for everyone This must be viewed as the only justification for the Persian Gulf war The Halton Hills HERALD Home Newspaper of Halton Hills Established A Division of Canadian Newspaper Company Limited Street Georgetown Ontario L7G 326 K ROBERT MALCOLMSON Publisher and General Manager 8772201 a BoonitoepP CLASSIFIED Joan Minna II JailOp CIRCULATION ACCOUNTING Accountant RATES Copy In Canada all month month month all and Pro The HanW claim copyright on all original and malarial eta lad by til and In National Quaan 5L W- or Moniraal Tha adrartliar igiMI that Iha not lor tilting out at mania In amount paid tor by thai portion el ai error occurtad arhalhar in Iha lit or and no lor nan any advarUiamaril Iha amouni paid or inch actually BOB Adjusting to the GST Its amazing how one small shift in attitude can improve your whole sense of wellbeing Personally Ive been ever so much happier ever since I realiz ed how much I like the GST Admittedly I may be in a bit of a minority here Somehow or other the GST hasnt had the desired effect on Canadians as a whole to reassure them that the nation is in excellent hands and remind them that Michael Wilson is their friend Indeed were told the GST is actually provoking citizens to acts of resistance This is astonishing in a country as mild- mannered as Canada where tax revolt has traditionally been defined as refusing to send Revenue Canada a Christmas card But just the other day the papers informed us of a Van couver man who refused to pay a restaurateur the GST on his breakfast Granted this may not quite compare with dumping boatloads of tea into Boston harbor and starting a war with King George But its certainly more radical than a grumpy letter to the editor Still Im puzzled and dismayed by the reaction Just for starters Canadians have always liked paying taxes If you dont believe this just ask the government And indeed there are good reasons for liking taxes Without taxes we couldnt pay for social programs environmental pro grams or our eight new Tory senators Weirs World by Ian Weir Newt Service True Canadians have always claimed to prefer Progressive Taxes a Progressive Tax being defined as one thats paid by so meone else But this is a minor quibble The fact remains that paying taxes makes us feel warm and responsible and it builds our character And heaven knows we could use a few new taxes just to guard against the possibility that we might lose some of the ones we already have Income Tax dont forget was introduced as a strictly interim measure following the First World War And who knows when the government might snatch it away from us As such its distressing to see Canadians turning against the GST of all taxes Its such a nice tax I began to realize this upon discovering that I have to charge GST on each piece of writing I sell The government is actually defining the things I write as goods This is wonderfully heartening in a world in which so many others define them as I began to like the tax even more when I discovered I didnt have a clue bow it would affect certain of my longterm con tracts and phoned the GST in formation office for clarification It turns out they dont have a clue either This was a revelation For the first time my government and I had something deep and fun damental in common From here It was but a short step toward perceiving the many other beauties of the GST For instance numerous com mentators have advised us that the GST is a quagmire of com plexity and confusion that could only have been dreamed up by bureaucrats Excellent Society is already menaced by the creeping in sidious belief that government in itiatives ought to make sense And this of course just strips them of their reassuring aura of holy mystery But best of all is the simple fact Mr Wilson assures us that the GST despite raising billions of dollars is something called revenue neutral It wont reduce the deficit one bit Well hallelujah The govern ment may have destroyed VIA Rail They may be salvaging the They may already have set their sights on Medicare But the deficit is sancrosanct At long last theyve identified a national institution they have no intention of attacking Gee you gotta love these guys