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6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 21, 2009 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Alarming RIDE statistics "The message doesn't seem to be getting out as well as we would like it to be. People are still drinking and driving despite the efforts of police." -- Chief Gary Crowell, Halton police "It seems the message isn't getting out." -- Chris Borak, president of the Halton chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) In what can only be described as a discouraging turn of events, the totals from this past holiday season's Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) campaign indicated an astonishing 10 times as many drivers were charged with impaired driving or having an illegal amount of alcohol in their bloodstream during the spotcheck program in Halton Region as compared to the same period a year ago. And that was with 11,233 fewer vehicles stopped this December over December 2007 (24,644 to 35,877). The Halton Regional Police Service's recent RIDE campaign saw an increase to 29 of such charges throughout Halton in December 2008 compared to just three for the entire region during the December 2007 RIDE spot checks. Such an increase in drinking and driving-related offences can only be cause for concern. Far too many people in Halton are showing no concern for themselves or others by getting behind the wheel after drinking. They are playing Russian roulette with their lives and the lives of others. So, if the "Message isn't getting out" what's next? We have long advocated for tougher sentences for drinking and driving, but the wheels of justice turn excruciatingly slowly and no political party is making this issue a priority. Therefore, don't expect sweeping legislative changes. Would tougher jail sentences be a deterrent? Longer driving bans? Punitive insurance rates? Possibly, but these recent RIDE numbers show far too many drivers simply don't give a damn -- and that is an attitude tough to alter. 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Oakville MPP is Go Transit user Re: GO commuter issues challenge to MPP, Oakville Beaver, Friday Jan. 16. As MPP of Oakville I agree with the initial comments made recently by Nancy Tibbo regarding GO Transit service. In order to be effective, GO Transit needs to be a reliable, safe and economical alternative for commuters. While my schedule does not always permit me to use the GO train on a daily basis, I am a GO Transit user. In addition, three of my four staff members commute daily on GO Transit trains. As challenged, I travelled from the Bronte GO station on Jan. 16 and during my trip we experienced problems with the doors closing and delays into Union Station. As MPP of Oakville, I have and will continue to be an advocate for improved service from GO Transit. In this past year, along with others from our community, I have called on GO Transit to focus on customer service improvements and increased parking and services at our GO station locations. As your MPP, I will continue to solicit feedback and ensure that these concerns are directed to, and followed up by, the Ministry of Transportation and the Board of Directors at GO Transit until issues of delays and over crowding have been resolved and are no longer nuisances for GO Transit riders. Kevin Flynn, Oakville MPP Israeli aggression not justified Re: Rabbi says Israel has right to defend itself, Oakville Beaver, Jan. 14. It is understandable, but not justifiable, that the good rabbi should paint such a benign, but biased picture of the atrocious slaughter of hundreds of innocent people in Gaza. The rabbi's view seems to be that Hamas started this conflict by firing rockets into Israel for no reason. This is completely inconsistent with information shown in an excellent full page timeline graphic on page A11 of the Toronto Star on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009. I quote from this timeline: · June 2008 -- Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire to end rocket attacks and Israeli offensives in Gaza. Blockade of supplies into Gaza eases, but vital supplies and freedom of movement still restricted. · November 2008 -- truce ends as Israel launches attack on tunnels used by Hamas, and Hamas retaliates with renewed rocket attacks on southern Israel · Dec. 27, 2008 -- Israel begins air attack on targets across Gaza, more than 200 people are killed. Rocketing of Israel continues. Hamas is being maligned for doing only what resistance fighters did in Europe in the Second World War. When invaders took over their country the resisters covertly fought back. Again retribution was vicious; whole villages were razed if the invaders believed they harboured resisters. Hamas is fighting not just for Gaza, but also for the confiscation of Palestinian land in the West Bank, by the same invader. This confiscation continues even as the atrocious slaughter of civilians in Gaza is happening. As for the Rabbi's statement of support for Israel's slaughtering by Harper, Ignatieff and Young: These persons are politicians and as such would sell their souls for a few votes. J.H. WILLIAMS Who is funding rockets? Rabbi Stephen Rabbi says Israel has right to defend itself, Oakville Beaver, Jan. 14) makes a statement which needs repeating: the democratically-elected power in Gaza, Hamas, has a publically stated mission to destroy the State of Israel. However, can anyone believe that the population of Gaza has the funds to support the acquisition of the rain of rockets, much less the well See Where page 7 This week's poll This week's question is: Do you think United States President Barack Obama's administration will live up to expectations ? · Yes · No To vote, visit oakvillebeaver.com Last week's poll: Do you feel probation and parole officers are justified in seeking a wage increase on par with that of Ontario Provincial Police officers? · Yes 23.81% · No 76.19% Total votes: 42 votes The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council.The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206,Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.