Harper and the damage done
Thanks to NOW for giving us The Harper Index (NOW, August 6-12 issue). I’ve been waiting for someone in the media to publish such an index clearly setting out the harm the Harper government has done to our country. In fact, you could publish a Harper index every week until election day and still not cover all the damage done.
It is especially crucial now that citizens be aware of Harper’s record so they can consider it in their voting decisions rather than getting distracted by the image games that obscure the real issues.
Rena Ginsberg
Toronto
Island airport tunnel trouble
Re Island Airport Tunnel Vision (NOW, August 6-12). Quadruple cost overrun? Check this comparison: the Island airport’s tiny pedestrian tunnel, a 260 metres in all, took three years to complete, while Europe’s Channel Tunnel, which is 37.9 kilometres under water, took roughly six years, with a cost overrun of 80 per cent. The difference is astounding.
Wayne Johnson
Toronto
Thin-skinned on tattoos
Letter-writer Arif Uddin (NOW, August 6-12) asks, “Why has skin become so devalued that it can’t be looked at without a tattoo?” Nothing wrong with a blank canvas, but some like to paint on it.
Naseer Ahmad
Etobicoke
Our debate trumps GOP gong show
All I can say is I’m happy to be Canadian. Our leaders’ debate (NOW, August 7) “trumped” the Republican presidential gong show by miles. The Canadian debate reflected intellectual engagement and discussion of substantive policy. No knockout punches, but a serious debate on the issues.
The U.S. Republican debate, on the other hand, was a farcical reality show and an extremely sad reflection on the most powerful country in the world reaping the harvest of decades of anti-intellectualism.
Andrew van Velzen
Toronto
Nuclear power equals certain doom
Re Neil Price’s article My Trip To The Peace Park In Nagasaki (NOW, August 6-12). The nuclear genie must be put back in its bottle or caged. Or, just as the dinosaurs became too large, we humans will quite soon be no longer in charge. As Margaret Thatcher sold land mines and Ronald Reagan sold bombs, their media fronts said “No more Vietnams.” But who were they kidding? Not Third World children who starve day and night. With greed as the bride and hatred the groom, we will succumb to our profits of doom.
Jeff Pancer
Toronto
Harsh water realities faced by First Nations
Re Peak Water Is Here (NOW July 30-August 5). There is no doubt that we overuse and abuse our precious water resources. At the same time, any discussion of water must put front and centre the realities faced by indigenous peoples.
For First Nations, water is not only scarce, but can also be deadly. We can see this in the damage caused by mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows and in the effects of lack of sewage treatment plants on reserves.
Canadian corporations squander water locally and globally. The Alberta tar sands consume between two and 4.5 barrels of water for each barrel of oil produced. We need to understand the geopolitical function of water and its manipulation as a tool for the continuing colonization of indigenous land.
Naomi Binder Wall
Toronto
T.O. already hooked on Olympics bid?
Helen Jefferson Lenskyj is right to urge caution about a possible T.O. bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics (NOW, July 30-August 5). The IOC is notorious for the ridiculously expensive, over-the-top demands it makes on any Games host city. This high-handed organization epitomizes the culture of entitlement. But packing the city’s most famous phallic symbol full of fireworks and firing them all off in an orgasmic shoot-for-the-stars pyrotechnics display, while nice to look at, is not a good sign that that’s going to happen. It was a strong indication that T.O. is getting badly hooked by the shiny lure of the five interlocking rings.
Robert McBride
Thornhill
Al-Quds questions
Letter-writer Elizabeth Block claims, “We’re not in Israel, where peaceful demonstrations by Palestinians can be met with tear gas, stink bombs and sometimes live ammunition” (NOW, July 23-29), in her defence of the recent al-Quds rally. Does she mean the intifada or those “peaceful” demonstrations where they throw stones at soldiers? Block also denies that the al-Quds rally was a “hatefest.” Was that al-Quds rally she attended in Toronto or Tehran? Big difference.
G. Lee
Toronto
