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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-06-01, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, June 1, 1994 Publisher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adrian Harte Business Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Theresa Redmond News; Fred Groves, Catherine O'Brien, Ross Haugh Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Robert Nicol, Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner, Marg Flynn Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert front Office &Accounting; Norma Jones, Elaine Pinder, Ruthanne NegriJn, Anita McDonald 0 EDITORIAL • • inion What does it take? 0 rganizerti of the Grand Bend Air Show may be putting on a brave face, but there can be no hiding their disappointment over the weekend's re- sults. It's not that the event can't be called a success. It was. The whole Air Show was beautifully orchestrated and co- ordinated. It took a squadron of volun- teers and professionals to. accomplish everything from booking the acts, to promoting the event, to making sure there was enough parking for thousands of visitors. It's just that so few of them actually turned up. Shuttle buses from distant parking areas were a good idea, but an ambitious motorist could find a spot on a street right in the village - or even drive right down to the beach and park in one of the lots there. The very same beach that will he jam-packed with people to watch the Canada Day fire- works later this year had plenty of room for the blankets of air show visi- tors. The static display in Huron Park was well visited Friday by thousands of school children on buses. But on Satur- day and Sunday it seemed tike the best - kept secret of the whole event. The organizers deserve every credit for putting together a first-class attraction, but they must be scratching their heads wondering what it takes to make people come to Grand Bend - at least more than would be there on a typical late -May weekend. Did the Air Show come too soon after the Victoria Day weekend? Are the Snowbirds a necessity? Or can they just blame the variable weather? If there is to be another Air Show in Grand Bend, those and many other ques- tions need to be answered. Grand Bend has proven it can organize a first-rate event, they just need to find a way to make it fly. A.D.H. Your Views Letters tohe editor Rumours circulating ... the regulations protect both sitter and ti,e child.... Dear Editor: would like to direct this letter to the group of ba- bysitters who have been investigated by the commu- nity and social services, in regards of who the per- son(s) may have been that made the report. Since you have probably heard many rumours cir- culated through the community by an Exeter baby- sitter. I thought it was necessary to fill you in with all the details. It is true that the sitter did look after our child and that we had reasons to change to another sitter, but we did not report her to the authorities nor did we wish to become involved in the rumours, simply for making a decision that affected the well-being of our child. The reasons we changed sitters was he- causc the sitter was taking holidays, maternity leave and was unreliable. Often we would drop our child off at the sitters before work but when we would pick up our child. the babysitter was not even home. she had someone else looking after the children. If you care to contact Community and Social Services you will find that these problems do not come under any part of their regulations, therefore giving us no reason to make a report about this sitter. I do agree that the quality of care is more impor- tant than the number of children under ones care (within reason) but do keep in mind the legal liabili- ties you may be facing if one of these children is in- jured while under your supervision. I guess that is why some regulations are needed, after all the regulations protect both the sitter and the child. At this point, we are becoming very frustrated about false accusations that we made the report. As I sec it was had timing on our part because we found a new babysitter one week and our old sitter re- ceived a visit from Community and Social Services the next week. We would appreciate that when this babysitter learns who really made the report, she make a pub- lic apology in the paper just as she has made public the false accusations against us circulating around town. Yours truly D & S Keller Exeter A View From Queen's Park By Eric Dowd i ♦- 9I. � �.;Y Premier Bob Rae has strong views about abuses of human rights in other countries -- ex- cept when he goes visiting. The New Democrat premier is on a two-week trip to China, Malaysia and Hong Kong with business leaders. supporting their efforts to gain new contracts. China is sten as a potentially huge export market and most of the world's industrialized nations are beating a path to its door. It also is a country where human rights are constantly abused. The most dramatic example for outsiders was the massacre of 1,000, mostly student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Beijing in 1989. The repression has continued and Amnesty International in its latest report says thousands of political prisoners are still held in China, many without being charged, and torture and ill-treatment are common. As examples, in March two men who tried to form a human rights association were arrested. A man who tried to organize a league to protect workers' rights (which ought to appeal to Rae) was arrested and has not been seen since. About 30 Protestant and Roman Catholic cler- gy and leaders were arrested and some are still detained, merely for preaching. Rae is not the first western or even Canadian leader to go to China trying to drum up trade. Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn has just re- turned and Prime Minister Jean Chretien is planning a visit. Chretien made a practical point that will reg- ister with many when he said "if we refuse to do business with every country having a politi- cal system that is not to our liking, then we will not he doing business with very many coun- tries". Many will feel the need to create jobs is paramount. But the NDP has always posed as a party that goes further to protect the individual. In opposi- tion in Ontario before 1990 it constantly put 'forward resolutions expressing concern about political repression abroad and demanded gov- ernments here speak up and take sanctions to help. Hl (11 itllriic�rt AV' AHD 1993 Publications Mail Registration Number 0388 ;;UBSCRIPTION RATES: Within 40 miles (65 km.) addressed A to non letter carrier addresses *30.00 plus *2.10 Q.S.T. Outside 40 miles (65 km.) or any letter carrier address *30.00 plea *30.00 (total 60.00) + 4.20 O.S.T. Outside Canada *99.00 (includes *88.40 toss) Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 136 by J.W. Eady Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-318233.1331 O.S.T. VR105210435 Hold that U1.P1;18t... By Adrian Harte History in the magazine rack There are those who believe that future historians, and arche- ologists will be digging through our landfill sites trying to learn the truth about 20th century mankind. I however, think they will learn the most about us by looking at old photographs of our newsstands. I'm not necessarily talking about headlines on newspapers and news magazines. I'm think- ing more about the kinds of spe- cial interest magazines that pro- liferate, flourish and die out. The fact that publications cater- ing to automotive buffs have been a staple of every variety store magazine rack since the '40s probably confirms that our love affair with cars is still go- ing strong. I can remember quite clearly when I bought my first serious camera fourteen years ago, and started to learn all I could about my new hobby. Books on the subject were a little dull. They all started with chapters like "What is a camera". No, maga- zines filled my need to find out the more interesting aspects of this diversion. Happily, you could then buy Modern Photography, Popular Photography, Photo Life, or Photographic just about any- where. A couple of those publi- cations have disappeared and been replaced with Photo Di- gest, or Outdoor Photographer, but the main difference is that they're all hard to find these days. The magazine rack in the gro- cery store or variety doesn't stock them anymore. Well, some do, but usually you have to find them in a book store or one of those stores that special- izes in magazines of all kinds. The historian might wonder why photography went from be- ing a mainstream hobby in the 1940s through to the early '80s, and then faded from view. My guess is that technology and mi- crochips has made better photo- graphs accessible to just about anyone. Pocketable cameras with built-in flashes, autofocus zoom lenses, and auto - everything aren't very compli- cated, but they take good photos for 90 percent of the people, 90 percent of the time. Hardly anyone has a darkroom in their basement these days, and most are happy with one- hour lab prints. The other side of the coin is that people are spending more on video cameras instead. Not surprisingly, you can now find at least two magazines on video at any local variety. In 1981 I used to have to pay a premium price for Bicycling!, a hard -to -find magazine for cy- clists. Nowadays, a typical magazine rack not only has it, but also Bicycle Guide, and maybe even Mountain Biking. What can we deduce from that about North American attitudes towards bicycles over the past decade? Not everybody buys special interest magazines. I probably buy too many, but I enjoy them almost as much as my hobbies themselves. The magazine rack is probably a treasure trove of information about the kind of society we live in, and what we're doing with our spare time. The next time you scan over a collection of publications that has everything from Modern Bride to Mac User, think what that display itself means about what kind of people we are, and what we will be tomorrow. Trading human rights for export The NDP urged a trade boycott of South Afri- ca long before this caught on with other parties and even after becoming premier Rae cautioned strongly against ending sanctions against South Africa until it proved beyond a shadow of doubt it had completely eradicated apartheid. The NDP over the years called for sanctions against repressive regimes in Argentina and El Salvador. The NDP was horrified when wine from Chile appeared in government liquor stores. The New Democrats also protested when pre- vious Ontario governments welcomed heads of state from repressive countries. These included President Suharto of Indonesia, notorious for his mass murders in East Timor but nonetheless given a banquet at the Ontario Science Centre. And Sekou Toure, president of Guinea, whose purges killed many thousands, was giv- en dinner at the legislature and lunch at Niaga- ra -on -the -Lake and a prime minister of the Shah's police -state Iran was similarly wined and dined. The New Democrats were the only party who took much notice of the mothers of murdered young Argentineans when they visited looking for help. The NDP regularly organized their press conferences. The NDP argued for years that the legislature should set up its own system to monitor and speak up against murder, inprisonment and tor- ture of political dissidents abroad. Some in oth- er parties thought a province should stick to do- mestic issues and the mechanics never was established. The NDP also said at the time that the Tia- nanmen Square massacre was a "terrible event' and there could be no moral justification for the act of the Chinese state against its own people and it was 'shocked at the cruel cynicism of China's rulers.' But by swallowing his distaste and going to China Rae has showed he is not much different from previous Ontario governments he con- demned - -few will want to listen to any more of his lectures on human rights. 1,