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The magazine usually sticks to the traditional stuff: world leaders, Nobel prize winners, the normal stock and trade. But a computer? Goodness, is the human race in that bad shape? I guess it is. Looking back on 1982, there aren't too many men (or women) of note who would be suitable for such an "honour" of being named the "Man of the Year." There are rumours floating about that Time had a tough time deciding on the computer or E.T. I would have put my money on Pac Man. Seriously, there is no question that the computer is having a very real and direct effect on human activity in the world today, and experts say we are only seeing the tip of the computer-age iceberg. The best is yet to come. Time magazine has recognized the significance of the electronic age, and probably that is worthy of something. Is it the start of an era where machines will have more of an impact on human beings than human beings themselves? I suspect it is. Maybe it is time we gave the machines a real chance to show their stuff. I mean they run our lives now, so why not elect a computer for Prime Minister, or President for a couple of years and see if it can't do a better job. If I had to select a "Man of the Year" for 1982, my choice would be Margaret Thatcher for her decision ear- ly last summer to throw caution to the wind and launch an invasion by sea of the Falkland Islands. The "Iron Lady" as she is known, proved to the world that even though the sun has gone down on much of the British Empire, the Royal Navy is still a force to be reckoned with. The world watched and waited as the fleet steam- ed south to the Falklands to turf out the nasty Argen- tines who had so rudely intruded that tiny cluster of rocky islands inhabited by a handful of hardy souls and more sheep than anyone can count. The British forces fought with bravery on the land, sea and in the air during the Falklands war, and when the Argentines put down their weapons, Mrs. Thatcher basked in the glow of victory. Despite the loss of life, it was pretty heady stuff for the people of the United Kingdom who at the time seem- ed overwhelmingly in favour of the course of action followed by Mrs. Thatcher. The mood has soured a lot since then as the bills start rolling in and an already bankrupt country has to find a way to pay them. Although the decision to send the forces steaming south and then actually to invade and engage in com- bat was seen as an example of iron will in the face of despotic aggression, the Falklands war was an exam- ple of just how much of a razor's edge all of us are sit- ting on. Some of the British ships, planes and subs were equipped with nuclear weapons. As Britain and Argen- tina slugged it out, the super powers hovered nearby, watching, waiting; and the danger of escalation intensified. One wrong move or miscalculation by any of the players involved could have touched a much wider con- flict. The world was fortunate the fighting remained localized. Mrs. Thatcher took a big gamble and won the first toss of the dice. She may end up broke in the long run, however. Still, the Falklands war was a major event in 1982, and the Iron Lady played a major role in it. The fundamental criteria for 'Man of the Year" is that the person (thing) must have had a profound im- pact on the course of world events. In 1982, the men and women who qualify as can- didates had a negative or potentially negative impact. Possibly at this time one year from now, we will be speaking of a person whose impact was totally positive: a man or woman whose actions actually improve the lot of all humans on this planet; a peacemaker in the Middle East for example; the negotiators who find a way to put an end to the insane nuclear arms race; the person who finds a genuine cure for a disease that kills men, women and children. These kind of advancements are not going to come from the computer; likewise I fear they will not come from the men and women who are currently playing ma- jor roles on the world stage. For they lack vision, the resolve and the will to tackle the really pressing pro- blems on this earth. LOCAL HERO A Port Perry man may be in line for some kind of police citation after he rescued a woman from a burn- ing house in Scarborough last Wednesday morning. Police have not released the Port Perry man's iden- tity because they require his permission to do so and they have not been able to get in touch with him since the day of the fire because he left for a brief vacation. (Turn to page 6) What's $850 Million Ontario Hydro made headlines last week with the news that "an error in judgement' added $850 million to the cost of four reactor nuclear power plant known as Pickering B. The error resulted when Babcock and Wilcox, the firm supplying the boilers, suggested a couple of years ago that maybe a million dollars could be saved by experimenting with the boiler-tubing systems. The experiment failed; systems had to be replaced and the net result was that the Pickering B start-up date had to be pushed back two full years. About $500 million of the loss was due to lost revenues and added interest costs. The cost of repair- ing the boiler problems was about $45 million. The total cost of the Pickering B project is in the $2 billion range. There is no question that mistakes are bound to hap- pen on a project of this magnitude, and the original in- tent of trying to save $1 million with an experimental boiler testing process is admirable. But surely, somebody at Hydro or the supplier must have been able to calculate what the costs might be if the experiment failed. In hind- sight, it was hardly worth the risk. Ontario's nuclear energy is credited with keeping hydro rates in this province considerably lower than rates elsewhere. And that's fine. But one wonders how long the rates can stay low with $850 million goofs on the books. What is even more galling is that apparently Bab- cock and Wilcox are not being asked to make up even part of the added costs. Hydro is going to swallow that $850 million by writing it into your power bills; about 30 cents per month for every customer in the province, starting January 1. That's the tough part. Now, 30 cents per month is not going to break anyone (at least we think not) but it is more than a little irritating when John Q. has to pick up the tab when somebody else's pocket calculator suf- fers a power failure. MP's Salaries It may come as a bit of a shock to some people that effective January 1, federal Members of Parliament received a pay package totalling $67,100. It may come as even more of a shock to learn that since 1980, that basic pay package for MP's has increas- ed $22,900, a hike of just over 50 per cent. One can't help but draw the conclusion that MP's were either much under-paid three years ago, or they are over-paid today. With some hesitation, we believe the former is the case. There are 282 federal Members of Parliament. Most Canadians would be hard pressed to name more than 20 or 30 of them. A lot of Canadians would be hard pressed to name the MP of their own riding. And they could care less who he or she is. Unfortunately, the public perception of an MP has slipped in recent years, as has the public view of all governments. : The public sometimes sees heavily edited snips on television of question period in the House, and granted, there are times when the antics in the House leave so much to be desired. What most people never see and fail to understand, is that for the most part, MP's do work hard at govern- ment business in Ottawa and at constituency business in their home ridings. A basic pay package of $67,100 ($50,300 salary and $16,800 expense allowance) is not an unreasonable amount when one considers salaries for professionals, managers and executives in the private sector. The reason there is always public sniping about how much MP's are paid is because the public has such a low opinion of government and anyone connected to government. It is a sad state of affairs in a country where people elected to public office are looked upon with such dis- dain. It is one thing to be critical of the policies formulated by governments, but the ill feeling and cynicism has gone far beyond that. The fact that MP's get so much flak hurled at them over the levels of their salaries is just another example of the small-minded, petty bickering that has become so much a part of the way this country does things. Canadians, it seems, just aren't happy, unless their whining about something