Canada in Iraq?
Re Harper Pitches Expanded Role In Iraq (Oct. 2): Whether it's a Liberal or Conservative government, the playbook seems somewhat the same. We begin with some small, relatively manageable commitment and before you can say "Bob's your uncle who didn't come back intact from the war," we are knee deep in the blood of the innocent citizens of other countries who are collateral damage, and that of our own troops.
Whatever the solution is to extremism in the Mideast and beyond, I'm with NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair. Let's practise our time-tested caution and restraint and not succumb to Stephen Harper's rush to battle.
Bill Engleson, Denman Island, B.C.
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We should all thank Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau for his call for transparency and disclosure of our strategy for dealing with Islamic State before committing Canadian lives or resources. I trust that if he is given this information, he'll volunteer to deliver it personally to IS in exchange for their strategy and battle plans, so the whole matter can be resolved in the rational, collegial manner that has characterized this unfortunate misunderstanding so far.
Teri Jane Bryant, Calgary
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The world's mightiest superpower failed to bring peace and security to the people of Iraq and the entire region, despite an all-out effort over many years.
If Stephen Harper thinks sending our sons and daughters to war will make a difference, he should lead by example, slip on his flak jacket, and take his son Ben, now 18, over with him to see the war through to its conclusion. Then he might begin to understand why Jean Chrétien told George "Dubya" Bush no to his face when pressured to join the ill-advised American invasion of Iraq.
Mike Priaro, Calgary
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Ebola's spread
Why aren't authorities controlling air passage into and out of the areas with Ebola more effectively (Ebola – Folio, Oct. 2)? Unless stringent measures are put in place, it now seems certain Ebola will spread to more continents.
Tony Clark, Brampton, Ont.
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Watching the press conference with Texas Governor Rick Perry and officials of the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, it struck me that most of what they said was designed to bolster their own standing and extol the attributes of the Texas Health system.
It was only under aggressive questioning by journalists that it became apparent there had been a fundamental failure to communicate to the doctors that the Texas patient had been in Liberia.
In this, as in other disasters, the ego of officials and politicians seems to render them incapable of following some simple steps: Start by describing what happened, acknowledge failures, advise what is being done to address the failures. No one is fooled by the chest-thumping. It only alienates us further from those who are in positions of authority.
Michael J. Wills, Toronto
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Unhand that hat
Your comments on the government's reversal of the politically correct RCMP decision to ban fur hats for its members shows just how wrong-headed your thinking is in choosing animal rights over human rights – a typical liberal initiative (Government Loses Head Over RCMP Hats – editorial, Oct. 2). Economic devastation has been wreaked on native communities in the North by "anti-fur activists."
Matt Campbell, Calgary
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Seems to me the government could better defend its position on requiring the RCMP to keep its fur hats by moving to "coon skin" from muskrat. Many Toronto voters would be overjoyed to have their raccoon problems resolved.
Jim Sanders, Guelph, Ont.
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Game's on
Re The Game's Over. Hands Off My Netflix (Oct. 2): Margaret Wente believes she's abandoned broadcast TV. However, the programs she's watching right now – Breaking Bad, Homeland – were developed by the very networks Ms. Wente has apparently deserted.
Netflix is essentially the rerun home of content originally seen on TV. Only seven of the thousands of series on Netflix are actually made by Netflix. The rest didn't come from thin air; they exist because of networks in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. We agree that consumers' viewing habits are changing, and massive industry upheaval is ahead. But Netflix is clearly just one component in a much larger ecosystem that is well prepared to innovate and compete.
The game is far from over.
Scott Henderson, vice-president, Communications, Bell Media
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Margaret Wente may be shocked to hear this, but I'm 26 and won't read the paper if it's not a tangible, print copy. If it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't have learned, on the same page her column appeared, about the abomination our refugee program has become (Canadian Mean-Mindedness Is Back – Oct. 2). Why has it turned into the farce it is? Can't people remember we're all human, entitled to basic rights? It's making me embarrassed to be Canadian.
Amy Soule, Hamilton
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Stunningly benign
I couldn't disagree more with your objection to McGill's decision to expel Luis-Andres Guimont-Mota from its football team (McGill University Fumbles The Ball – editorial, Oct. 1). While McGill is undoubtedly influenced by the furor over domestic violence among athletes, The Globe's kindly interpretation of Mr. Guimont-Mota's alleged violent behaviour is stunningly benign.
In similar fashion, Clinton Uttley, McGill's erstwhile Redmen coach, casts a sympathetic soft glow over Mr. Guimont-Mota's prior conviction for assault as stemming from a "poor choice."
This minimizes the seriousness of the crime, and the damage to the victim. Beating up another human being is much more than simply making a bad choice.
Similarly, characterizing assault and uttering threats as an "error in judgment" is nothing more than a finger wag. Surely the victim is more deserving of the embrace that you recommend for poor Mr. Guimont-Mota.
Dianne Bradshaw, St. Lazare, Que.
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Counter-Honnish
Re The Last Of Six Well-Known Sisters (Oct. 1): Deborah Cavendish's obituary describes how she and her young sisters, denied formal educations, "developed a rich fantasy life … they divided the world into 'Hons' – or honourables, as barons' daughters are known … and "Counter-Hons."
Not according to another source – one of her own remarkable sisters, the writer Jessica Mitford.
In her 1960 memoir, Hons and Rebels, Jessica writes, "Contrary to a recent historian's account of the origin of the Hons, the name derives, not from the fact that Debo and I were Honourables, but from the Hens which played so large a part in our lives. These hens were in fact the mainspring of our personal economy." She adds, helpfully, "The H of Hon, of course, is pronounced, as in Hen."
I can imagine Deborah and Jessica being pained at the positively Counter-Honnish persistence of the misinformation.
Garth Goddard, Toronto