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A 6 - The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e s d a y O c to b e r 10, 2001 T h e O a k ville B eaver Ian Oliver Publisher Neil 0\iver .Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crazier Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertolli Director ofPhotography Metroiand Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., indudes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser. Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News. City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror. Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian. Flamborough Post, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press. Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times. Kingston This Week. Lindsay This Week. Markham Ecnomist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Mitton 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/Qarington Port Peny This Week. Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer. Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide. Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal. Scarborough Mirror. StoufMle/Uxbridge Tribune. Forever Young, City of York Guardian Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member cca a THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: O T -J v l H Y W vm ca elc m J[strat Strategies for T .1 F K RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community New spapers Association Preparing for Tomorrow's lleallh Cart W A " r S IN vrmuidrjvmiw FOR U BUSINESSKTHE ARTS J /n g e B e ll Fund mm 0 m TV AUCTION M 8 7 JMiern | JAward © O akville FO R BUSINESS EXCELLENCE 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 WWCNA A _ Canadian Community New spapers Association THE IRONTE BUTTERFLY | oakville galleries | O N T AR I O -»»yietfr; Editorials Sinister force And so the air strikes have begun in Afghanistan and armed forces, we're told, have been on the ground for some time trying to ferret out Islamic terrorists believed responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. England's Prime Minister Tony Blair was c . , .» first to commit personnel and materiel to the salvos in the effort, to be followed by our own Jean Chretien war against terrorism who informed the nation in a very rare tele have been fired but vised speech, that w e're sending six aircraft, those looking for a six warships and about 2,000 personnel to help quick victory will be with support functions. From both a political and nationalist view disappointed. It will be point, the U.S. had to do something to not only a long, arduous and try and reduce terrorism but also to show the average American that its commander-in-chief frustrating campaign. was up for a fight. But the current `w ar' is unlike any other the U.S. has waged before. Despite the recent bombings of Afghan targets that make for a great pyrotechnic show, the truth is that the campaign to find the likes of Osama bin Laden and his cronies will take years. In fact, the search and destruc tion of terrorist groups is likely to be a continuing military element in most free nations of the world. Victory will not come from a show of overwhelming firepower like in the Gulf War but rather through carefully thought out missions to eliminate key lead ers of terrorist groups. In other words, it will be nasty, it will be dangerous and it will be deadly. That means special forces, which go by a variety of names, are likely to be the key players in this campaign. Small groups of well trained troops who know they are in for the fight of their lives when it comes to Afghan terror ists and others who have used the country as their training stations. Even as the smoke clears from the brief initial attacks, the fallout has already begun in neighbouring Pakistan. Protests urging retaliation turned to mob vio lence. again illustrating the difficulty in subduing terrorism. For terror is not lim ited to one country or one group of people, that's what makes it the most sinis ter force facing all of us today. S K Suburban New spapers of Am erica S OC h ild & reX J L n 's C h o ir mm T h e O a k v ille . M ilt o n a n d D ist ric t R E A L E STA TE B O AR D The Oakville Beaver welcomes your com m ents. All letters m u st be typed, signed and include the w riter's address and phone num ber. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 Black Tuesday has lessons for all of us Every experience offers an opportunity to grow in aw areness. D ealing w ith ad v er sity is no exception. As horrific as B lack Tuesday has been, our eyes have been opened to realities, som e obvious, others previously unseen. M om ents after the fo u lest o f deeds had been perpetrated against the W orld Trade C enter, a beacon o f light penetrated the gloom y, deadly scene as search and rescue personnel selflessly sa c rific e d life and lim b. T heir actions w ere heroic beyond m easure, reaffirm ing h u m ankind's innate goodness and capacity for com passion. In that enorm ous pile o f tw isted rubble, am id hellish chaos, the air pungent w ith inestim able death and suffering, healing was underw ay, even though the w orld in low er M anhattan had seem ingly stopped. The need for effective security reg ard ing all aspects o f air travel and at border c ro ssin g s is now p a in fu lly ev id en t. H enceforth, vigilance and expertise m ust under pin public policy in this m ost critical area. C om placency regarding terrorist acts has been banished forever. No longer are C anadians, or fo r that m atter, peoples any w here in the free w orld, im m une to such incursions. B lack T uesday w as a w ake-up call regarding the prevailing conditions w hich precipitate terrorism . Social and econom ic inequities on a global scale are rife. As long as 20% o f the w o rld 's population continue to consum e 80% o f available resources, as long as the candle o f dem oc racy falls to burn in so m any countries, as long as people w allow in the despair o f illiteracy and abject poverty, there w ill be w idespread disaffection and, ultim ately, the venting o f hate. Finally, w ith corporate A m erica and corporate C anada seeking publicly-funded bailouts, it is now apparent that the neo conservative agenda calling for less gov ernm ent represented the biggest scam of the 20th century. N ow we know fo r certain the public good is best served not by the private sector, consum ed as it is by profit, greed and self-interest, but by public in sti tutions. C lose to hom e, the H arris go v ern m en t's com m on sense revolution, w hich either privatized, gutted or dow nloaded key serv ices, lays in ruins -- a testam ent to tunnel vision o f the w orst kind. C onditions e lse w here fare little better. R ebuilding govern m ent w ill prove a daunting though neces sary task few people can deny, but m any w ill support. B lack T uesday raised co n scio u sn ess about w hat really m atters in life, or more accurately... who. People m atter m ost, and not the assorted gadgetry w hich has held us m esm erized w ith the false prom ise o f a better life. Fam ily, friends and colleagues are m ore precious than stardust, w hile, by com parison, things are m eaningless. If these lessons are m astered, then out o f the ashes o f B lack Tuesday w ill com e a new aw akening. Letter of the W eek Does Bush's word justify bombing anyone? With millions of dollars and an army of media stations at their disposal, the US government can portray any part of the world in any way they wish. If they want to show Afghanistan as a country in which every person is a terror ist, indeed they can, and, to a certain degree, they have. Since the horrendous attacks on September 11th, has the US government even tried to follow leads on suspects other than Osama bin Laden? Or did they just conclude that such atrocities can only be committed by Muslims? Based on the US governments press conferences, state ments and media coverage, the latter seems to be the gov ernments take on things. I can understand the US government falling to such despicable levels of racism, but to see Canada blindly fol lowing this crusade is shocking. It repulses me to see how the current situation is in the Canadian government's blindspot. How can such a great country fail to see the truth in such critical matters o f justice? Has any proof been made available to the public? What kind of proof is the Canadian government using as a basis to justify the attacks upon Afghanistan ? Is the word of President Bush enough to send millions of innocent people fleeing for their lives'? Is it enough to justify the death of thousands of other inno cent Afghanis? With the world governments, including our Canadian government, blindly playing follow-the-leader. how will justice ever be served? I sincerely hope the Canadian gov ernment reviews the proof at hand, or rather, the lack of proof, and comes to the realization the just because the US government thinks someone is guilty, it doesnt mean we should feel the same way. We should demand proof FIRST, then bring the perpetrators to justice! Famine event here fights child hunger As president o f W orld Vision C anada, I w ould like to thank the 30 H our Fam ine participants and organizers in O ntario for their valuable contribution to the most suc cessful Canadian 30 H our Fam ine event. The annual event has reached its goal of $4.5 m illion. Participants in O ntario raised $1.8 m illion tow ard this goal. The 30 H our Fam ine is a national event in w hich students from across C anada go w ithout solid food for 30 hours to raise money and increase aw areness o f global poverty. This year, the 30 H our Fam ine had over 175,000 students sign up to do the famine. The m oney raised will be used to help needy children in developing countries. It will be used to fund program s such as land m ine aw aren ess in C am bodia, support reforestation efforts in Ethiopia, and sup port to breakfast program s in elem entary schools and projects for street youth in Canada. We look forw ard to another successful year in 2002, as we continue to help those in g reatest need. N ext y e a r's 30 H our Fam ine is scheduled for April 5 - 6 . Join the fight against hunger and register for next y e a r's event by callin g 1-888-8FAM INE or visiting w w w .fam ine.ca. On behalf o f the children whose futures are brighter because o f your efforts, I thank you. Dave Toycen President, World Vision Canada A irc ra ft s e c u rity a m is n o m e r So knives were perm issi ble on passenger airlines? Really. Scanners and metal detectors looked and sound ed good but seldom worked. 60 Minutes reported that a test at a major U.S. airport in which 450 passengers con cealing both large and small guns resulted in four people being stopped. T hat's a suc cess rate of 99.11% for the bad guys. Microsoft was selling a video on how to fly a Boeing #747. W hy? Now the Federal Aviation Authority is talking tough about stronger doors and better locks on cockpit doors. Really. How about no door? Why, after the first brain-challenged hijacker managed to divert a plane to Cuba did the manufacturers not start building them in two units. One fuselage, two units, no door to the cockpit. You can threaten his mother w ith hedge clippers back there, but the pilot cannot let you into the flight deck because THERE IS NO D O O R!!! (However, if you'1 1 just step out of this em er gency exit, sir, the pilot's door is the first on the left and he's expecting you.) Amazing. Because of the bullet-proof barrier, I could not commandeer a New York taxi cab but thanks to the best minds in the aviation indus try, I'd have a good shot at driving an airbus. D. Yusuf WWII veterans deserved better I understand that World War II disablement benefits held by the Federal government for as long as 40 years are being returned to the veterans involved less any accumulated interest. Rewind 36 years. I had a small nestegg in a government pension plan. When I realized how poor the 10-year earnings performance had been, I cashed it. but was denied tke accumu lated interest. This punitive confiscation had been authorized by order in council under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. I lost a few dollars; but the WWII veterans involved lost huge amounts, being repaid with 20-cent dollars. It is hard to imag ine a more heartless, callous, and cynical use of government power against the powerless. One wonders how many similar instances - e.g. treatment of merchant seamen, the Wappel affair - have happened in the intervening 36 years. The enormity of this denial of benefits is compounded by the fact that the inflation against which these veterans should have been protected is mainly the result of government policies. \ The Economist, of London, UK, states flatly that inflation is a mechanism for transferring purchasing power from the citi zens who earned it to governments that didn't. Your govern^ ment's treatment of our disabled veterans is a clear and glaring example of this. From episodes like this spring a short and sorrowful line of logic: Step one: Never trust your government with your money. Step two: Never trust your government. We wring our hands over citizens' cynicism about politifcians, low voter turnout, and so on. But episodes like the above, combined with the low-grade theatrics of Question Period, us? of Committee to kill good but unwanted Bills, and a few other features of Canadian governance, guarantee the inexorable increase in all these serious threats to our political well being. Loss of confidence in government is a big step toward anarchy. William Thomas -, < j - P e te r D. P ettier sJK P u d O K A Y , SIN C kTHA rtK S G IV W G VJEA/t HAD LEFTOVER " -- 7 ROASTTURKEY, S O U P -^ TURKEY SANDW ICHES, e a t Your ^ Bu t T u RKE TURKEY R5T PIE, V > L A K E s : ?/J (BREAKFAST. TURKEY CASSEROLE, TURKEY FAJITAS, TURKEY KABOBS, TURKEY Q , 7 , , ' f r it t e r s , W ( And NO ; ) . coM Fw ns,,, Frank Gue