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r- Orono WVe ek 1y T imens, WV ed ncs d ay, Ma y 22,1 99 6 ) m 'Arts-A-Rama' HeId At Clarke High- Pines and Clarke High School topped off the year with their annual Arts-A-Rama held at the Clarke Auditorium. This year's event included a dramfatie arts presentation'and was followed by a performnance by varlous musical groups and a dessert. Here, the Clarke band gets ready to per- form for the crowd. In Response to Alex Shepherd's article From Parliament Hill April l7th 1996 re: The UN. and the U.S. 1 was alarmed to read the subi ect articles and to sense the anti-Amenican sentiment expressed in it. It would seem that Mr. Shepherd.is operat- ing under the illusion that the United Nations is responsible for the relatively peaceful con- ditions which exidst in most of the world today as he seems to equate the falure of the U.S. to pay dues of $1,5 bil- lion to the U.N. as grounds for stating "in spite of the musings about its role as a world peacekeeper, 1 flnd little practical evidence that there iany reality in that dlaim." Does he not realize that the U.S. has been the prime defender of the Free World for the last 55 years. Without the Amiericans, Bitain would neyer have survived the onslaught of Nazi Germaniy nor would Western Europe have been freed. Since WW Il, NATO (backed primarily by the U.S. but including Great Britain, West Germany, France, and Canada) has warded off the Communist threat to dominate the world. Now at last, the Cold War is over and more than haîf the world's population lives under democratically elected gov- emnments. During this time, the U.S. has run up a national debt exceeding $4 trillion U.S. The major portion of this is the result of military expenditures to maintain freedom. Canada, in the meantime, 1has ridden along on the U.S. coat-tails, spending approxi- mately 5% of what the US. has on national defense. Now, Mr. Shepherd is criticiz- ing the U.S. for the, relatively small amount it owes to the U.N. I would venture to guess that it has a very valid reason for this. Perhaps Canada should also question sup- portinig an organization ($85 million/year approx.) which he refers to as "an interna- tional joke." Mr. Shepherd wants the U.N. to pay Canada $250 mil- lion for its peacekeeping activ- lUies in Bosnia. I suggest that Canada be more cost con- scious and less hasty in vol- unteering«forces for such mis- sions in the future. Our Armned Forces ended up get- ting a bad name as well. Even with the massive debt wvhich the U.S. has accumu- lated in defending freedom world-wide, the per capita debt owed by each American is one-haîf of that, owed by each Canadian. The lion's share of our debt has accu- mulated since Trudeau and the Liberals took office back in the 60's. Our expenditures were primarily social pro- grams rather than on defense.' Inasfar as your criticismn of the U.S. Congressmen for spendîng s uch a brief time at the meeting, two reasons might be suggested. First, that they had other more important matters to take care of;, second, perhaps the anti-American sentiment showed through. 1 would suggest a diplomat be sent to such a meeting if anything is to be accomplished. Only 3 Congressmen showed up (who lived locally) and 10 of our Parliamentarians went from as far away as BC. Seems obvious that Canada is less cost-conscious. Why would we not have sent three men instead of 10? Then you say that the taxpayers of Canada did not pay for your trip, but the Parliamentarians for Global Action. Who funds this organization? If it is U.N. supported, Canada is paying. Also did the 10 Parliamentarians dlock of, Céanada's payroll for the time you were in New York? 1 guess we know the answer is "ýno" to that. Re the agricultural and soft wood lumber negotiation with the U.S., it is flot very diplo- matic to say that the U.S. "'will continue to play bully until someone takes them to task." Such remarks are inflammatory. Sure the U.S. negotiates the best deal it knows how for its country. Don't we try to do the same? In the U. S. Canada Auto Pact, Canada fared out pretty well, because we had good nego- tiators. The resuits- show from the fact that several auto assembly plants in the U.S. have closed, while our Canadian plants are working overtime. No, Mr. Shepherd, I would suggest that you be thankful, as 1 an, that the U.S. is our friendly neighbour to the south and acknowledge that it, flot the U.N., is responsible for the freedom which we have in Canada to express our opinions without fear of repression. Let's do it diplo- matically though. Glenn Tamblyn B.A. Sc. Victoria, B.C. (Editor's note: Mr. Tamblyn has some very good points. Canada recently reduced the size of its armed forces from 84,000 to 70,000. The only reason we are able to have such a small armed forces to defend the second largest country in the world is due to the fact that we know that our big buddy to the south is there to pro- tect us. As for the U.N., an organization that cannot even prevent armed guer- rillas from firing on its troops trying to administer aid, does not deserve the credit for the relative peace the world enjoys. Some very interesting points, Mr. Tamblyn) BALLS RADIO & T.V. 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