E-snooping, e-gregious?
In its attempt to come to grips with an ever-changing electronic world, the Harper government wants to intrude even further into our private lives (Opposition Bristles As Tories Table Online-Surveillance Bill – Feb. 14). To make the argument, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says you're either with us or agin us, you're either with the government and all things good or with "the child pornographers."
Our freedom is a precious thing, and clearly vulnerable under this regime. When it suits them, the Conservatives embrace the rhetoric of smaller government. That's their bread and butter ticket. When it involves an erratic enhancing of police powers, the sky's the limit.
Bill Engleson, Denman Island, B.C.
.........
People who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear from this legislation. I'm tired of paying for things that other people are scamming for free with illegal downloads. But lumping critics in with child pornographers? C'mon. No wonder Stephen Harper feels he has to micromanage his ministers. It's time to micromanage Vic Toews out the door.
Roger Brown, Toronto
.........
I wonder if Vic Toews would be willing to publish all of his private e-mails and web traffic history, and that of his family, for Canadians to inspect. If not, if he values his privacy like most of us do, should we then presume that he is aligned with child pornographers?
Adam Knisely, Edmonton
.........
There are two damning issues with the e-snooping bill: The unacceptable level of privacy invasion and the fact that it's useless.
Today, people's entire lives are lived on the Internet – from e-filing income tax to online dating, job searching, everything that is personal. We don't need the police going on fishing exhibitions through private lives. The government says the police can't go through this stuff without a court order, they just want a "phone book." What, other than snoop, could they possibly do with an IP and e-mail addresses?
The Chinese (and their firewall) have taught the world how to get around prying eyes. You don't need an ISP to get e-mail: Try Google, Yahoo or the many, many others. As for an IP address, services such as Acevpn will hide someone's location and activities. These services are usually located outside Canada and therefore outside the reach of the police.
In short: Invasion of privacy, no results.
Roger MacKenzie, Burnaby, B.C.
.........
Cupid's tactics
In 56 years of marriages, I have succumbed only once, decades ago, to the intrusive commercialism of Feb. 14. Monday evening, my devoted wife arranged and paid for the conventional expensive dinner out. (Mind you, she's richer than me.) Tuesday morning I read your editorial (Why Put Up With It? – Feb. 14) to her over breakfast. She forgave me for those years of apparent neglect.
Mick Mallon, Iqaluit
.........
Has Scrooge, pre-ghostly visits, secured a place on your editorial board? "What a grotesque farce is Valentine's Day"? Seriously? Next time my wife tells me I'm not romantic enough, I'm re-reading this to her. Bah, humbug, indeed.
Roger Jordan, Edmonton
.........
More than 50 years ago my father spotted my mother walking into a room and exclaimed: "Look, look, there's the girl I'm going to marry!" All these years later, he visits her daily to help care for her in the nursing home. Their love is stronger than ever.
My wife and I began our life together in a very different way, neither of us struck by "lightening." Months went by until we found ourselves deeply in love, a love that continues to grow into its second decade. I pity those who think the magic of love or life can be quantified or summed up by the experience of any one person.
Robert McManus, Dundas, Ont.
.........
Mandatory minimums
Judges and jurors sit through trials and hear all the facts before determining guilt or innocence, not parliamentarians (Judge Defies 'Unfair' Law On Mandatory Sentence – Feb. 14). Are there not enough lawyers on the Conservative side of this Parliament to point out mandatory sentencing will inevitably lead to gross miscarriages of justice?
Are all the voters who elected this "majority" howling to lock up the Leroy Smickles of the world? More judges must stand up for the principle of discretionary as opposed to mandatory sentencing, otherwise the costs of imprisonment will skyrocket exponentially.
Wayne Newman, Vancouver
.........
A more accurate label than "tough on crime" for the government's efforts would be "tough on criminals," as their approach is indeed harsher on criminals and those they want to label as criminals. But we shouldn't confuse being tough on criminals with being tough on crime, as the Conservatives' program is decidedly pro-crime. Criminalizing misdemeanours, handing out lengthy prison sentences for small crimes and increasing prison populations is well understood to manufacture more and harder criminals.
Perhaps "dumb on crime" is a better label, as any program that knowingly accomplishes the opposite of its stated intentions is, quite simply, dumb.
Bill Hollings Erin, Ont.
.........
Tuned way out
Re It's The End Of Riot TV (Feb. 14): What a relief! The last thing we need is more mind-numbing reality TV. It had nothing going for it: no scantily clad beautiful people in exotic locations, not even capital punishment to give it that life or death suspense. Just a sad parade of knuckle-dragging Y chromosomes and blurry CCTV images.
John Emes, Victoria
.........
All-day K
Margaret Wente (Is All-Day K Really A Leg Up? – Feb. 14) is right to suggest that all-day kindergarten is not a magic bullet. In a perfect world, early childhood education is desirable. But it's all about competing priorities. What about the rising number of children who are recent immigrants with limited English? How does the teacher make sure they get the attention they need, when they are dealing with cuts to assistants and other resources? The future of public education in Ontario rests on much more than all-day kindergarten.
And if, as Ms. Wente suggests, all-day K has value for the mothers who might otherwise stay at home, she should know that 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. jobs for professionals are in fairly short supply. All-day K does little to solve daycare issues for the countless families that need care, since the school day and the work day rarely align.
Anne P. Kothawala, Toronto
.........
Embrace 'truculent'
What's wrong with truculent (Fierce Resistance – letters, Feb. 7)? How can we establish and maintain an educated vocabulary without looking up unfamiliar words? Robert Graves told the story of an exchange between T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) and an Oxford professor. Returning from a visit to London, Lawrence was asked, "Was it very caliginous in the metropolis?"
"Somewhat caliginous, but not altogether inspissated," replied Lawrence.
I had to look it up.
Glen Urquhart, Victoria