Proportion and the G20
I will bet $900-million of other people's money that Osama bin Laden is laughing in his cave at all the gyrations our leaders go through in the name of security ( G8/G20 Security Costs Could Reach $900-Million - May 25). Sept. 11, 2001, was a triumph for al-Qaeda because it terrorized our leaders so much that they have lost all sense of proportion when it comes to spending taxpayers' money for their ego trips.
Sudhir Jain, Calgary
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We will spend $900-million (How many hospitals could be built with that?) to entertain politicians from around the globe and the only item of substance likely to emanate from the meeting is the date and location of the next extravaganza. Why aren't these meetings held at the UN in New York, especially in these troubled economic times?
Max MacIntyre, Elora, Ont.
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Toronto authorities have designated a "protest zone" well away from where the G20 conference will be held, yet Canadians have a right to assemble for peaceful demonstrations. The city has also arranged for more surveillance cameras, telling us they will be identified by signs and removed afterward. Why should we trust this assurance?
Local protest organizers were approached recently by federal intelligence officers at their homes and places of work and questioned. There will also be uniformed and plainclothes private security contractors, as well as military personnel, prepared to use the latest crowd-control weapons and methods.
These tactics are designed to make these and future protests as stressful, difficult and ultimately meaningless as possible and should be exposed as such and stopped immediately, while we still have the ability to do so.
Christian Cowsill, Hamilton, Ont.
Beyond Canada's ability?
Jennifer Jeffs stresses Mexico's limited successes and de-emphasizes its disastrous drug-gang situation and the role President Felipe Calderon's government has played in bringing it about ( A Stronger Mexico Is Good For Canada - May 25). Yet, since the government brought in the military to fight the drug cartels less than four years ago, more than 14,000 people have been killed. The military itself is now widely believed to be heavily involved in the drug trade. Ciudad Juarez, on the U.S. border, has become one of the most violent cities on Earth. The rule of law is collapsing and there is a real danger that Mexico will become a failed state. In the circumstances, the help Mexico needs most would seem to be beyond Canada's ability to provide.
John McLeod, Toronto
Pot and politics
My husband, Marc Emery, is a Canadian who never went to the United States and never grew or sold marijuana ('Prince Of Pot' Sentenced To Five Years In Prison - May 25). He sold only cannabis seeds for more than a decade, paid taxes on all income and used the profits to fund political activism.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's press release about Marc's 2005 arrest bragged that it was "a significant blow … to the marijuana legalization movement" because "hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's … profits are known to have been channelled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada." It's all about politics, not about pot.
In 2008, American authorities offered a plea deal that would allow Marc to serve his time in Canada if he was charged here, but the Conservative government refused.
If Marc broke the law in Canada, he should be tried and sentenced in Canada, not sent to a foreign country to be punished under much harsher laws.
Jodie Emery, Vancouver
More hurry, less wait, but …
Mount Sinai Hospital's ER plan to "measure everything" and "set standardized performance targets" displayed on an electronic display board is reminiscent of a notice posted in the waiting room of a medical clinic in my neighbourhood, informing patients they will have a maximum of 10 minutes with their family physician and should present just one symptom per visit ( In Search Of The Rx For ER - May 25). The Mount Sinai plan will probably provide politicians with numbers that might make them more popular, but reducing wait times in this manner will certainly take its toll in discouraging individualized patient treatment.
Irwin Silverman, Toronto
About that glass ceiling
Further evidence of the glass ceiling presents itself in your list of the top 103 rankings of chief executive officers ( 2009 Executive Compensation - Report on Business, May 25). There appears to be only one woman listed, Nancy Southern, and if that is not enough, she had to work two jobs (No. 87 Canadian Utilities and No. 102 Atco Ltd.)!
Craig Cherrie, Toronto
Give Fergie a break
My heart goes out to Sarah Ferguson ( A Prince, For A Price - May 24). She has been tormented by the press for most of her adult life. Then, after forfeiting her marriage for the sake of her husband's reputation, she is paid the equivalent of about $24,000 a year in alimony. Can you imagine the expenses she must have just to provide the expected standard of living, housing, education, clothing, security, etc. for herself and her daughters?
The Duchess of York has struggled and worked tirelessly to improve her physical health, career and image and to repay her debts. Why, at the age of 50, is she so financially strapped that she would resort to selling access to her husband? Surely the Queen's grandchildren and their mother should be provided for adequately. Isn't it time the public gave Sarah a break - and isn't it time for Prince Andrew to provide a suitable and fitting income for the mother of his two royal children?
Gillian Ber, Calgary
For the love of birdsong
I enjoyed Marcus Gee's column ( A Bird's-Eye View Of The City's Secret Visitors - May 25). I am totally blind and enjoy bird watching. In the mid 1980s, CNIB, Cornell University and the Library of Congress produced an audio bird guide for blind persons. Since then, I have enjoyed bird watching and learned that dedicated birders use their ears as much as their eyes. There is a certain peace and comfort in closing one's eyes and simply enjoying the sounds of birds, even if one can't identify them.
Jim Sanders, Guelph, Ont.
How does this work?
Re U.S. Plans War Games To Put Heat On North Korea (May 25): How do war games achieve peace?
Philip Mongeau, Montreal
Who audits the auditor?
With citizens anxiously awaiting revelations by the Auditor-General about Parliament's books and MPs' and senators' spending decisions, possibly hoping the resulting media coverage will brighten a dull summer political news period, perhaps we could have even more fun checking out the Auditor-General's office ( Tories Open To Talks With Auditor On Examining Expenses - May 24). You know, how does the money spent there relate to results obtained, and are staff expenses reasonable? Perhaps some sort of a Super-Auditor-General?
Margaret Hamilton, Toronto
ripple...Ripple...RIPPLE
Todd Hirsch's very good account of how economists think raises a question: How much do their forecasts create self-fulfilling prophecies ( Take This Chicken Soup To Heart, Young Economists - May 24)? If I hear doom and gloom, I might well worry about my job, put off large purchases, sell my house before the anticipated slump in prices and switch my stocks into cash. How far might that ripple go?
Peter Cranston, Victoria
O buddy, where art thou?
When I read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men with my Grade 8 students, I am compelled to clarify that yes, George and Lennie love each other and no, they're not gay. Robin Hood ( The True Meaning Of Robin Hood - May 22)? Huck and Jim? The Lone Ranger and Tonto? Is everyone of interest in literature, history and culture soon going to be claimed by gay revisionist theory? I miss buddydom.
Donnie Friedman, Toronto
Bummer, indeed
Low-slung trousers may expose more than underwear ( A Waist Is A Terrible Thing To Mind - May 24). These days, when a young man dressed this way bends over, viewers may be treated to the image of his gluteal cleft, or bum cleavage, to use the almost colloquial term. These days, I see more exposed buttocks on the street than I see in my office.
David Rapoport, MD, Toronto