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é -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, February 12, 1991 The Port Perry Star 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: InCanada $25.00peryear Elsewhere $70.00peryear. Single Copy 60¢ EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland News/Features - Julia Dempsey Billing Department - Louise Hope News/Features - Kelly Lown Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Lynda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil PRODUCTION Annabell Harrison Trudy Empringham Darlene Hlozan BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby ADVERTISING Advertising Co-ordinator - Valerie Ellis Advertising Sales Representative - Anna Gouldburn thn SRY Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario Editorial Comment GRIM LEGACY The war in the Persian Gulf is marching into its fourth week with no sign that it is close to an end. In fact, the opposite is true. Despite the fact the Allies have flown in excess of 50,000 bombing missions into Iraq and occupied Kuwait, Saddam Hussein remains defiant as ever. The world is bracing for the start of the so-called land battle between armies of over one million soldiers. It promises to be long and bloody with large numbers of casualties on both sides. If the land battle takes place, the military hospital on its way to the Gulf from Canada won't be able to cope with wounded. oo Still, the American led coalition are determined to enforce the United Nations resolutions, which took them to the Gulf in the first place: to force Saddam to get his forces out of occu- pied Kuwait. Over the long haul, facing the combined military weight of the Americans and the other allied nations, Saddam will lose this war. But the cost to all sides will be impossible to measure for years to come. | The cost in loss of lives civilian and military, will be a cross the human race will have to carry. Though if recent his- tory is any yard-stick by which to measure such things, the hu- man race didn't worry too much about the burden of crosses from previous wars. When the shooting stops, what then? Will the Americans remain in battered Kuwait as a kind of occupational police force, spending huge sums to keep its force there, and even bigger sums to try to re-build what's left of that tiny nation? This war is already costing the American treasury over $3 billion each week. Fighting the war and the peace may bank- rupt the country. And it certainly means money will have to be diverted from elsewhere, like the so badly needed social pro- grams. - Even Canada, a relative minor player in this conflict, is feeling the financial noose tighten. This country, already in debt to the tune of $300 billion, will have to come up with more money to pay its way in the gulf war. The Middle East has never been one of the more stable regions on this planet, and once the shooting stops, little will be accomplished to change this tradition. Who will step in to fill the power vacuum left when Sad- dam is finished? Perhaps Iran. Hardly a comforting thought. This war has driven the wedge of hatred even wider be- tween Israel and the Palestinians. What are the chances that dispute will be solved in the near future? And what of Canada when this war ends? Canada's role in the conflict has already caused deep rifts inside this country between those who support a military contribution and those who don't. And it's perhaps fair to say that in the months and years after the war, Canada may be remembered more for turning away from its traditional peacekeeping stance than for its con- tribution in over-throwing the brutal Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. Suffice to say that whatever reputation built in the interna- tional community since World War 2 as a peacekeeper and mediator will be altered. By how much is impossible to say at this time. Are there any lessons the world can learn from this sad and dismal conflict, once it's over? Surely it is time for the world to put an end to the un-checked sale of conventional mil- itary hardware. Saddam is able to fight this war because for the last dec- ade, dozens of countries marched to his door and sold him all manner of weapons and gadgets. And there are countless other Saddams (of varying strength) in every corner of the globe. The world armed this guy, making huge profits in the process, and now the price must be paid to dis-arm him if nothing else changes post-Saddam, the arms makers and sellers of the world must be stopped. E WWW It just keeps getting tougher and tougher for everyone these days, as layoffs continue to come along in landslides. The recent announcement that Johnson Con- trols, one of Port Perry's largest plants would be moving to the United States will be leaving an- other 280 employees beating the pavement come April. The problem is there are no jobs out there for those who- are unemployed now, let alone an- other 280 employees. But that is not really the problem anyway. One could only hope that there are only 280 employees looking for work. The problem doesn't stop there. This latest closure hit close to home, the plant is in Port Perry, many of the workers are from Scugog Township. It tends to bring more of an impact when it is on your home turf. Plant closures and lay-offs are happening all over Canada, leaving thousands out of work. The worst part for these Johnson Controls workers is they are not just being laid off be- cause times are slow. They are not being laid off until customers begin to buy again, and . 0 workers are recalled to meet the flow of traffic. These workers' jobs are moving hundreds, and hundreds of miles away, and they are not coming back even if consumers find the money to purchase once again. Everyone is pointing the finger at someone, blaming either trade, the GST, Brian Mul- roney, or all three combined. Pointing a finger of blame makes one feel better to have some- where to take out frustrations. Even' though it is satisfying to blame Mr. Prime Minister for the troubles of Canada, and even though it couldn't happen to a nicer guy, pointing the finger of blame will not change real- ty. If something doesn't happen soon to give Ca- nadians a flicker of hope in these troubled times, it's going to be too late. At this rate, with plants closing at every turn, (and I'd be a fool if | said there won't be several more), there won't be any jobs when the econo- my turns around, because there will not be any industry that is left standing on solid ground. My generation is the generation that is sup- posed to be out buying homes, beginning to raise families, and beginning to put a secure fu- JAMES BAY AND CHURCHILL. FALLS LOOK LIKE. A COUPLE OF FLASHLIGHT / Back Talk by Kelly Lown ture in the forefront of their thoughts. With a slumping economy, getting worse all the time, plants closing everywhere, jobs disin- tegrating, new taxes being invented, and no end in sight, security is about the last word that comes to my mind. Ah! Winter Returns Finally it's back. Winter came roaring back Sunday night, and | say it is about time. The past two weeks have been nice , but this is the middle of February, and we are finally getting back the weather we expect, and the weather that believe it or not many enjoy. Whatever happened to the snow that used to leave people stranded on country roads for days, snow that we could build three-storey forts out of in the backyard? We are lucky to be the recipients of a large snowfall, let alone the blizzards even | can remember as a kid. Even-with the warm weather on the weekend, the hubby and | decided to venture out on Lake Scugog and try our luck at ice fishing. | was not really impressed with the idea of walking across ice, that | thought for sure was going to break up at any minute, but the hun- dreds of others | could see out there put my mind at ease. Spending two days on the ice, not catching a darn thing myself, | decided to take in the sights around me. This turned out to be more amusing than fishing anyday. | watched countless snowmobilers overheat their engines, then curse, and swear at the ma- chine as if it did something wrong. | guess no one told them that when there is no snow, and you are driving your sled without.gloves or a coat, that possibly it is a little too warm for the sport. : Venturing further down the lake, we saw three vehicles get stuck in the ice, or shall | say open water. | guess the weeds protruding out of the water were not enough warning. Later on Sunday evening, we were minding our own business, when a large shadow went - running by, the ice never cracking under the weight. At this moment | decided the ice must be thick enough to hold up a person, afterall that cow that was out for an evening jog across the lake didn't seem to be worried ness of the ice. ut the thick- a _-- a NE CURA RS