Faux-Limbaugh auditions?
Canadian civilization, according to Friday's Globe and Mail, is about to get: (a) a Fox News-type network ( 'Fox News North' Sets Bait For Reporters); (b) an ultimate fighting championship ( Ultimate Fighters To Do Battle In Vancouver Debut), and (c) $16-billion worth of U.S. jet fighters, on a sole-source contract ( Fighter Deal Swayed By U.S., Documents Reveal).
Why don't we go all out and see if we can also acquire a Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin imitation?
Carman Cumming, Ottawa
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It is possible, ironically, that a Fox News-type media outlet in Canada would be a good thing for the centre-left agenda. While this new channel will find its primary audience among the true believers, consider the broader effect of Ezra Levant and his ilk spouting their ideology 24/7. It will be about as pleasant as an oil spill, and from the perspective of the PMO, which anxiously controls every message, it will be as volatile. Sensible people will recoil, and the liberal media - to the extent that it exists in Canada - will pounce on every alarming statement. Therefore, let the dark flower blossom as it may.
Eric Savoy, Montreal
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It is challenging enough, without "Fox News North," to teach students to be civil, listen to others, disagree based on substance rather than ideology or personality, and work together to come up with the best solutions to complex problems. Politicians already set a bad example in Parliament for democratic behaviour. We do not need to be further infected by the argument culture that passes for discussion to the South.
John Myers, Toronto
Faux protest - or not
I have a suggestion for protesters of the "let's do a deal" G20 group. Don't. It isn't worth a billion of our tax dollars. Protest by not protesting. With no protests, no costs. We could even send a couple of hundred million to our Acadian cousins in the Gulf for the cleanup that is going to cost about the same as protecting the world's leaders from their constituents.
Clive Doucet, city councillor, Ottawa
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Since the Blue Jays games during the G20 weekend have been moved, why not stage the highly anticipated riot at the Rogers Centre? Ticket sales and corporate sponsorships would go a long way toward offsetting security costs. Add a portion of concession sales, broadcast rights and the subsequent worldwide release of the DVD, and you have a major revenue stream. (As always, fans would be cautioned about on-field interference.)
Michael Derblich, Toronto
That great faux outdoors
I wonder if that fake lake will be available as a tourist destination. I can't afford a real Muskoka cottage, but the family sure could use some time in the fake outdoors. With a billion dollars spent on security, I know the area's kid safe. We'd also like to take a side trip to Tony Clement's riding and have lunch under the $100,000 gazebo.
We'd love to take the kids to Toronto on the train so they can see an actual "Canadian corridor" but it's a bit of a ride. With so much money to spend, we're wondering if the Conservatives might consider something we could actually use - like a high-speed rail corridor.
Scott Faulconbridge, Lachine, Que.
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Tony Clement's riding is in Huntsville. Surprise, surprise: Huntsville gets the money that leaves behind infrastructure, in other words, the good stuff that comes out of the summit spending.
There are no Conservative ridings in the City of Toronto. Surprise, surprise: Toronto gets a fake lake and huge traffic hassles and disruptions, in other words, the bad stuff that comes out of summit spending ( Toronto Traffic Chaos Looms During G20 Summit - June 11). If they fall in their fake lake, the faux-Tories shouldn't count on finding many of us willing to throw them a fake lifeline. On second thought, that's the only kind I'd throw.
John Rogers, Toronto
Unfair comparison
In his assessment of BP executive Tony Hayward's leadership re the oil spill, Queen's University professor Julian Barling says New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani was an example of doing it right - of staying in full view during the crisis ( Lessons In Leadership Spill From BP - June 11). Mr. Guiliani was not being held responsible for the chain of events that led up to the collapse of the two towers; Mr. Hayward, on the other hand, is clearly being held responsible for all aspects of the spill, and no doubt his every word is being recorded for use in the massive lawsuits that are sure to follow.
A better comparison would be between Mr. Giuliani and Barack Obama - who didn't cause the spill, but whose job, like Mr. Giuliani's, is now to show political leadership until this disaster is brought under control.
George Parker, Cobourg, Ont.
Odd parsing of events
Your editorial ( Odd Party Out - June 11) is an odd parsing of events surrounding the amending of the refugee reform bill. The bill in its present improved form would never have happened without our active involvement in making it better and our decision to walk away when key concerns were still not addressed.
From the outset, Liberals had concerns about significant changes to applications on humanitarian and compassionate grounds and the potential negative consequences of safe country-of-origin provisions. Even after significant improvements, these issues were not resolved to our satisfaction. The bill that was finally presented went further to address the concerns of all involved precisely because of the pressure put on the government by Maurizio Bevilacqua and the Liberal caucus.
The result is a balanced compromise to reform the system so it errs on the side of fairness. The new bill will allow refugee claims to be dealt with faster so genuine refugees can be settled more quickly and the ones judged to be false can be sent home sooner - a drastic improvement that would never have come about had we not demanded better.
Mario Laguë, director of communications, Office of the Leader of the Opposition
Erdogan mirrors his country
Far from being a proponent of radical Islamization, Recep Tayyip Erdogan led the split from the more devout Welfare Party in the later 1990s ( Erdogan Seizes The Moment In Shifting Mideast - June 11). His support for EU membership is not a novel tool to overthrow the secularists in Turkey, but rather the culmination of a 40-year journey to be welcomed by Europe since the founding of the EEC in the 1960s.
The secularist establishment in Turkey has been responsible for three other military coups in the past 50 years - hardly a bastion of democracy. While Mr. Erdogan's reaction to this recent diplomatic spat is unprecedented in Turkish-Israeli relations, it must be remembered that Israel killed Turkish citizens in international waters. Far from "pulling the rug out" from Israel to establish a "radical" new alliance in the Middle East, Mr. Erdogan is mirroring the discontent felt in his country, much as any democratically elected leader should do.
Mike Delaney, Ottawa
No HST mandate
Your editorial about the HST ( No Cause For Alarm - June 10) ignores the central issue in B.C. Gordon Campbell's Liberals specified during the last campaign that they would not institute the HST. The government of B.C. does not have a mandate to do so - in fact, it was elected with the clear expectation that it would not. While there are benefits to be looked at in adopting the HST, the specifics are important. Most importantly, though, the HST can in no way offer benefits that compensate for the hit that democracy in B.C. is taking in having it instituted by the present government.
Kyle Hawke, Vancouver
More than their genes
Ignorance of the real issues facing the autistic community, plus lack of public awareness about autistic pride and the many autistic adults who have helped our understanding of what it means to be "different," leaves an enormous void in the dialogue about the ethics of genetic testing ( Genetic Finding Paves Way For Controversial Autism Testing - June 10).
As a mother of an autistic child, I am intrigued, yet definitely afraid for the future of the autistic population. I am concerned about the public perception about what autism is because I wish for opportunities for my son, not further prejudice, which semantics such as "fouled up genes" may suggest.
If there were actually a way to detect autism, with the "hundreds of genes associated with it," I would venture a guess that I, too, may not have been born, as I likely possess similar genes to my son's. From historic figures today diagnosed as likely autistic who have made significant contributions to our world (Ludwig Wittgenstein, Glen Gould, Lewis Carroll and so many others), to someone like me, we might be talking in numbers we truly cannot fathom.
Like those who are not autistic, autistic people are more than their genes; we are largely shaped by our environment, supportive families, good education and so forth. It is vitally important to continue this conversation, stop premature mail-order tests and consider autistic people and their views when writing about them.
Estee Klar, founder, The Autism Acceptance Project
And then there's me
I couldn't help but notice the article on Alan Knowles who beat the market by 32.2 per cent in 2009, thus earning him the StarMine analyst award as Canada's top stock picker ( Top Analyst Rides Oil Sector To Victory - June 11). I am not an experienced analyst, nor am I employed in the financial business, but I did manage to beat the market by 41.09 per cent in 2009 using a Canadian bank discount brokerage account. Furthermore, I did it in less than five months, Aug. 15 - Dec. 31. Wonder if stock-picker guru Peter Lynch will sit up and take notice?
Lindsay McKenna, Ottawa