June 29: Buzzed by China’s jets? Maybe it’s a way of saying thanks? Plus other letters to the editor

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Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

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Maybe it’s a thank you …

Re Chinese Jets Reportedly Buzz Canadian Ships Ahead Of G20 Summit (June 28): What’s that buzz? Maybe China’s just thanking us for the Canadians who sacrificed everything to defend Hong Kong against Japan in the Second World War …

Or merely a friendly flypast, a tip of the wings to Justin’s father, Pierre, for his early diplomatic recognition in 1970 of “Red China” in the United Nations …

Or a thank you for the wheat Canada sent to ease starvation in China in the 1960s, against strong objections from the U.S. and despite America’s trade embargo …

Or just a little tribute to the Canadian who pioneered mobile battlefield blood banks, Dr. Norman Bethune, who sacrificed his life in the operating theatres of China’s Great Revolution …

Wow. This is some very special kind of thank you. If China ever again needs help, it should just give us a call. Lest We Forget.

Michael John Charette, Oakville, Ont.

Tough guy? Tough sell

Re As Election Looms, Liberals Tout A Tough-Guy Trudeau (June 27): Touting Justin Trudeau as a “tough guy” is going to be a tough sell. Mr. Trudeau is a lot of things, but not tough. Even if he is perceived to be tough with provincial premiers (I don’t see it but maybe I’m missing something), he is nowhere near tough enough on the world stage – say, for instance, with China. Mr. Trudeau may be the tough guy in the kindergartner sandbox, but he can’t even budge the bullies by the swing set.

I’ll give credit where it’s due: Our PM is, simply put, a nice guy, just the kind of fellow I’d like my kids to have as a drama teacher.

Gideon Bloch, London, Ont.

Dems’ bigger picture

Re Elizabeth Warren, The ‘Big Mo’ Democrat, Is Not Another Hillary (June 26): Elizabeth Warren is a great candidate. I’m a dual citizen (U.S. and Canada), and she has my vote. But can we stop with the Hillary-bashing?

Ms. Clinton won almost three million more votes than Donald Trump in 2016. She lost the election by the tiniest of margins in a handful of states. In Wisconsin, a voter-ID law kept 200,000 people, most from Democratic constituencies, from voting in an election decided by 23,000 votes. A hostile foreign power interfered in favour of Ms. Clinton’s opponent. The FBI director announced a molehill of an investigation into her while ignoring the mountain of investigations into Mr. Trump.

Another Hillary would be fine. What Democrats – and all of us – have to worry about is another Trump campaign rife with collusion and nefarious interventions by domestic and international actors intent on undermining American democracy.

Anthony Cantor, Toronto

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It takes quite an ego for Konrad Yakabuski to declare this early in the primary season that “the only Democratic candidate with a fighting chance at appealing to the folks in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin” is Joe Biden (Trump’s Enemies Could Help Him Win Again In 2020 – June 22).

Mr. Biden is the guy who recently told an audience of corporate donors that under his presidency “nothing would fundamentally change.” This is the guy who will appeal to voters in those states in 2020? I doubt it. Polling shows medicare for all, free tuition and the Green New Deal are supported by a majority of Americans. Yet, an old-school moderate Democrat with no appetite for change is the only choice?

Paul Wilk, Mississauga

Nuclear’s narrative

I empathize with Denise Balkissoon’s sense of despair about the speed with which we must cut carbon emissions, and I respect her evaluation that planning new nuclear plants won’t meet the tight timelines for the task. She also acknowledged in her essay last Saturday, The Nuclear Option, that after 60 years of nuclear-generated electricity, no country has developed a secure disposal method for nuclear electric waste.

None of the nuclear enthusiasts interviewed pointed out that electricity demand in Ontario began falling in 2002, and stabilized in 2016 at roughly 10 per cent lower than 2002, according to the National Energy Board.

I have less respect for the claim by Dan Gardner (a claim endorsed by the Ontario Energy Board), that 61 per cent of Ontario’s electricity is generated by nuclear fission (Nuclear Power Is The Key To Fighting Climate Change. So Why Don’t We Embrace It? – Opinion, June 22). The Ontario electricity system diverts hydroelectric power from the grid at times of low Ontario electric demand because it is too expensive (and dangerous) to turn nuclear power plants on and off. Because of its cumbersome nature, nuclear generation of electricity must be a base-load generator, and if that means “turning off” hydro-generated electricity, that’s life. Nuclear generation of electricity is an inflexible, cumbersome, dangerous process – and that’s a key reason Ontario’s “dependence” on nuclear power seems so high.

Evelyn Gigantes, Toronto

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Re Nuclear Power Is The Key To Fighting Climate Change. So Why Don’t We Embrace It? (Opinion, June 22): There are simple, multiple answers to this headline’s question. It is too expensive, too rigid and too risky.

Has a nuclear reactor ever been built on time, or on budget? What nuclear reactor has operated, without retrofits, for its entire (original) expected life? Can a nuclear reactor be easily turned on and off (or scaled up or down) as needed? What insurance companies are willing to cover the risk of a nuclear reactor malfunction?

Almost always, the answer is none. Electricity’s future is one of distributed renewable generation, smaller and more numerous generation facilities, conservation, electric vehicles, changing regulations, energy retrofits, etc. We have enough challenges without more nuclear boondoggles.

Dick Bakker, president, Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative

The art of war

Re Propaganda As Portraiture (June 27): I would join Kate Taylor in questioning how an American hobbyist’s mediocre paintings merit being exhibited in the Canadian War Museum, however, the art is more illuminating than she suggests when the artist, George W. Bush, bears direct responsibility for prominent conflicts. Some 40,000 Canadian men and women served in Afghanistan as a result of then-president Bush’s decision to invade with the assistance of America’s allies.

Mr. Bush’s perception of those he put into harm’s way, recorded through his painted portraits, is a valuable record to better understand some of the actors who were directly affected by that conflict, and is certainly worthy of reflection. I agree politics has no place in our museums. This can only be accomplished when items with historical significance are exhibited for the public to consider, and form its own opinions.

Paul Rasbach, London, U.K.

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“An American hobbyist’s mediocre political exercise …”

Lots of artists are “political.” Some have talent. In Canada, politics and art are not crimes. No matter how bad.

Jeffrey S. Erlich, Toronto

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