Author Ray Bradbury is shown in this Jan. 29, 1997 file photo. Today’s topics: Ray Bradbury on libraries and courage; pricey fakes, D-Day, Africa’s divides ... and moreSTEVE CASTILLO/The Associated Press
Fat of the land
Time was when "the fat of the land" was something people lived off – not the people themselves (Our Obsession With Obesity – June 6).
If taxing fast food and drinks only puts money in government coffers, then so be it. Tax away – double, triple the taxes. Supersize them. How else, short of denying the obese health-care coverage, are we supposed to pay for the strain they put on the medicare system?
If the overweight insist on putting their money where their mouth is, the rest of us shouldn't have to pay for it.
Geraldine McGrath, Vancouver
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The real issue here is not dealing with obesity, it is the continued, unabated and profound intrusion of the government into our daily lives. We are routinely told what to eat, what to drink, how to raise our children, how to manage our financial affairs and generally how to think, to mention just a few areas where governments feel they have a mandate to socially engineer the population.
Most people are still willing to blithely accept any government pronouncement, no matter how ridiculous, as being in their best interest. Governments need to get out of the business of telling us how to live our lives, and get into the business of effectively governing.
John Morrison, Burlington, Ont.
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Bradbury's wings
Ray Bradbury (God rest his soul) once famously remarked: "Without libraries, what have we? We have no past and no future" (Ray Bradbury, Author Of Fahrenheit 451, Dead at 91 – online, June 6). He also said that sometimes you have to jump off cliffs and "build your wings on the way down."
With the Harper government having recently given Library and Archives Canada an unceremonious shove – to the tune of $10-million in cuts that will eliminate 20 per cent of its work force – I think it's time Canadians got busy building wings. Otherwise, what have we?
Peter Gorman, Toronto
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History's fog
Congratulations on the wonderful D-Day article setting out the June, 1944, photograph of the Caen Canal and the River Orne area of France (Nearly Lost Photographs Tell Story Of Bold Invasion – June 6). I can almost feel the desperate battle taking place as I study the details of this picture.
The efforts of the Wilfrid Laurier team under the leadership of Prof. Terry Copp will forever allow us to appreciate the brutality of war with a clarity that is rarely available because of the fog of history. Canadians must never forget the contribution of our brave soldiers.
Eric W. Slavens, Toronto
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Pricey fakes
A fake lake, fake immigrants and now, a fake fighter jet (Cost For MacKay To 'Park His Posterior' In F-35 Mockup: $47,000 – June 5). I am beginning to wonder what is real in Ottawa, aside from – in this latest episode – Defence Minister Peter MacKay's desire to promote himself.
Don't politicians understand that grandstanding spendthrift antics are seriously alienating those of us who want meaningful actions from our elected officials?
Bill Engleson, Denman Island, B.C.
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Africa's divides
Patrick Martin describes the dilemma Israel faces upon the influx of 60,000 refugees from Northeast Africa (Flood Of African Asylum Seekers Into Israel Sparks Race Riots – June 5). He describes Israel's reaction to these refugees – race riots and the enactment of a new law, which threatens lengthy prison terms to anyone assisting illegal migrants.
He doesn't explain, however, how Israel's new law will affect African refugees themselves, arguably the most problematic part of the story. The law allows Israeli authorities to detain illegal migrants for up to three years, without trial or deportation. According to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (CRSR), Israel is required to verify requests for asylum and provide refugee status for those who are eligible.
Sudanese and Eritreans, the majority of Israel's illegal migrants, are not allowed to file for asylum in Israel. Perhaps The Globe should concern itself less with Israel's dilemma and more with the dilemma of mass imprisonment facing African refugees who are only trying to escape authoritarian regimes.
Emma Quail, Calgary
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Canada was a no-show for the 100th anniversary of the African National Congress (Canada's Ties With South Africa Are Dissolving In Neglect – June 5), but 25 years ago, at the 75th anniversary, we gathered in the Commonwealth Room in the House of Commons to celebrate – MPs, representatives of the ANC, South African exiles and Canadians. The Speaker of the House joined us, and we sang Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (Lord Bless Africa).
Anne Mitchell, Toronto
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Biotech truths
Don't get me wrong. I'm as committed to the stewardship of our natural environment as the next left-leaning, city-dwelling, transit-riding thirtysomething. I support environmental charities, I admire people who strive to live by high environmental ideals. But when belief sidesteps scientific truth, count me out.
As Doug Saunders argued ('Frankenfoods' Have Moved On. When Will Opponents? – June 2), there is a growing scientific consensus that the hysterical claims surrounding genetically modified foods have largely proven baseless. Yet, if recent letters are any indication (Biotech Backlash – June 5), the environmentally righteous continue to believe what they want to believe on this topic.
When it comes to global warming, environmentalists are quick to hurl the label "denier" at those who cling to their beliefs despite a preponderance of scientific evidence. Doesn't that knife cut both ways? Or does the environmental movement only value science to the extent it avoids producing, dare I say it, inconvenient truths?
Gord McGuire, Toronto
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Pension leaders
Jeffrey Simpson appropriately commends New Brunswick for establishing shared-risk public-sector pension plans consisting of an almost completely funded basic pension benefit, plus contingent extra benefits such as inflation adjustments (New Brunswick Tackles Its Pension Pickle – June 2).
B.C.'s public-sector pension plans have been shared-risk, with the above features, for over a decade. B.C. now has the best-funded public-sector pension system in the country. So, while I, too, commend N.B. for modernizing its arrangements, out here some of us feel like we're Rodney Dangerfields when we hear relatively late-adopters being credited with pioneering large-scale, highly efficient, shared-cost and shared-risk pension arrangements.
Bruce Kennedy, executive director, B.C. Public Service Pension Plan, B.C. Teachers' Pension Plan, B.C. College Pension Plan
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On the menu
Let's not waste too much precious time reading erotic literature (writesextalk – Books, June 2). It's a bit like going to a restaurant – and eating the menu.
Farley Helfant, Toronto