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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-07-19, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, July 19, 1995 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord &Malsing; Barb Consitt /News; Heather Mir, Chris Skalkos, Ross Haugh, Brenda Burke Eazdwaticia; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Robert Nicol, Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner, Marg Flynn _Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Dolce & Accounting: Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollings, Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple The Exeter Times Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers M •Im" ;oA,N, providing news, advertising and information leadership • • • inion Publications Mail Registration Number 0386 UBSCRIPTK]N RATES' CANADA Within 40 mNs. (ss hm.) addressed to non letter carrier addness& 433.00 pars 82.316.S.T. Outslds 40 Wiles (68 km.) or any letter carder address $33.00 plus $30.00 (total 63.00) + 4.310.5.T. Outside Canada 899.00 plus $8.93 OST (IlncIudss $88.40 postage) Published Fath Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 186 bbyy J.W. Eedy Mikados Ltd. Telephone 3.619-23111331 • Fax: 619-2350766 &$.T. 15101111011311 EDI "I'( )121:11. Goodbye peace, hello The Cold War is back. Thanks to France's decision to return to testing nuclear bombs in the South Pacific, the world which has been re- cently striving so hard for a total ban of nuclear weapons in now crumbling back into the dark ages of the Cold War arms race. Sometime this fall, France will release an estimated 150 kilotonnes of weapon- ry - eight times the power of the Hi- roshima bomb - in two coral reefs in the South Pacific. A small army of spe- cialists and technicians will descend on the french Polynesian islands to pre- pare 1,000 -metre deep shafts which will contain the radioactive fallout at the point of explosion. A total of eight explosions will be detonated between September, 1995 and May, 1996. Why? in a nutshell, one might call it "nuclear upgrading': President Jacques Chirac wants to replace all of his coun- try's nuclear warheads by the year 2015. To do so, France must start test- ing the weaponry now so that an indus- trial base can be developed by 2015 which is capable for turning out the lat- est wonders of total world destruction. 'The new bombs are described as "stur- dy stable weapons" which can be "rep- licated without risk". "The tests are also designed to pro- vide a preliminary body of scientific data on which to construct extrapola- tions that could be used later to carry out computerized simulations of nucle- ar explosions, quotes Le Monde, ex - nuclear testing plaining the government's reason for conducting the tests. Politicians can talk circles around people about almost any subject in the book, but when it comes to the semantics of the global arms race, the words used by France to concoct its defence for resuming nuclear testing sound more like a drunken computer salesperson than a democratically - elected representative. Chirac insists that no environment damage will result from the test, but re- fuses to listen to the pleas of Japan -- a country which suffered from the effects of the detonation of two nuclear bombs 50 years ago this August 6. Despite the pleas from Japan, Australia, New Zea- land and Britain for France not to pro- ceed with the testing, Chirac fully in- tends to have his party in the South Pacific, even if it jeopardizes a prospec- tive global ban on nuclear weapons. To make matters worse, The United States is considering large -size `nuclear experiments" after previously declaring a `moratorium' on nuclear testing. Poli- ticians will never be accountable for po- tential global destruction without a glo- bal nuclear ban treaty. Unfortunately, that treaty has never been farther from sight since the militaristic thinking of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Thanks to Jacques Chirac, the ecstasy of `jthe end of the Cold War' is over. thanks to the President of France, the nuclear arms race is heating up again. Thanks to you, Jacques, there'll never be hope for world peace. Fergus -Elora News Express. Letters to the editor Canada Day festivities well organized "Thanks to the Legion, I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves tremendously." Dear Editor: What a party! Indeed it was! Of course I am refer- ring to our own Canada Day celebrations in Exeter June 30 and July 1. Two days of well organized events that required a great deal of planning and hard work, yet not once in your report of July 5 did you once mention the fact that the entire two day line up of events, other than the roast beef supper was sponsored by our own Exeter Legion Branch. I would especially like to commend Bart DeVries, Cathy Masse, Dave Boltzmann and Mike Brintnell for a job well done in directing the activities. There was something of interest for every age group whether you wanted to decorate your bike, sample the chili, enjoy "Positively Stompin"' or just watch the fireworks. Thanks again to the Legion, I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves tremendously. Yours respectfully, Barb Tiedeman A View From Queen's Par] By Eric Dowd TORONTO - Premier Mike Harris is trying to convince people he is just a regular guy, but his mean streak keeps showing. The Progressive Conservative premier insist- ed after being elected: "I am an ordinary guy. I came from the people. I'm the guy next door." Any neighbor who borrows Harris's lawn- mower would be wise to return it on time, how= ever. Hams has shown his hard edge by his rapid chopping of programs and particularly, although it has not been much noted, in picking his cabinet. Almost the only criticisms of his choices so far have come not from opposition parties, but from Tory MPPs who soldiered in the legisla- ture in opposition. Three longer -serving MPPs, Christopher Stockwell, Gary Carr and Morely Kells, have complained they were not included although seven new MPPs are in. MPPs left out normally hide their annoyance feeling there will be changes in a year or two Health Matters By Heather Mir Window to the world When a member of our news staff began having distressing problems with his eyesight, I started to research what we can do to protect one of our most precious senses. Often called the window to the soul, eyes are our window to the world. Protecting eyesight will help preserve a life time of good vision. Wearing sunglasses that filter out UVA and UVB rays can help avoid squinting which can encourage wrinkles and prevent permanent sight damage. Most optomistrists recommend sun- glasses that block 99 to 100 per cent of both UVA and UVB light. Wearing glasses which are very dark but don't filter out these rays can be more harmful than wearing no sunglasses at all. Because dark lenses cause the pupil of the eye to dilate and admit more light, they can be a source of injury in the long- term. Light colored eyes are more sensitive to sunlight and will be more comfortable in darker lenses with the highest level of ultraviolet protective coating. Dark eyes will be fine in medi- um to light lenses. Besides filtering out harmful sunlight, it is important to main- tain a healthy environment for your eyes. The summer sun, heat and wind as well as pollen, dust and air conditioning can all contribute to excessively dry eyes. Burning, itching, redness, sensitivity, blurring and scratch- iness are all symptoms of dry eye irritation. Using an artificial moisture - replenishing tear product can help sooth discomfort. It is im- portant to use preservative -free products because frequent use of preserved tears has been shown to cause increased dry- ness. Contact lenses can be a source of problems for some people. New designs in disposable soft extended -wear lenses can allevi- ate irritation. Some of the ad- vances in contacts include de- posit -resistant gas -permeable lenses, which have a coating that resists bacteria buildup, and hybrid soft/hard lenses. The rig- id center and soft outer ring pro- vide both a sharp vision and comfort. Bifocal and ultraviolet blocker contacts are now availa- ble as well. • • • WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? • • • The Times Advocate continues to welcome letters to the editor as a forum for open discussion of local issues, concerns, complaints and kudos. WE ASK THAT YOU KEEP YOUR LETTERS TQ A MAXIMUM OF 300 WORDS, The Times Advocate reserves the right to edit letters for brevity. Please send your letters to P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6. Sign your letter with both name and address. Anonymous letters will not be published. and they may be included then if they don't rock the boat. But Hams has the smallest cabinet in 30 years, only 18 ministers plus himself. Openings will be few (unless he runs into scandals) and by the time they come long -serving MPPs will have lost their advantage of experience and 50 . eager -beaver new Tory backbenchers will have done their utmost to impress and be beating on the door. A veteran left out now may find entry to cabinet even more difficult later. Stockwell particularly must wonder why Har- ris excluded him. He was a headline -grabbing municipal politician in Toronto touted as Tory leader even before being elected an MPP in 1990, which may have irked Harris. Stockwell was an energetic and forceful fi- nance critic. He was too much of a hatchet man to the point that Liberals passed him questions they were afraid to ask themselves, but showed enough intelligence to suggest he could play a more constructive role. MPPs do not cross Mike Harris But Stockwell also was outspoken in caucus and pushed Harris to emphasize tightening wel- fare and scrapping employment equity, which served the party well in the election. Harris sim- ply may not like someone who talks back. Kells, a minister's aide before he became an MPP and therefore more knowledgeable about the legislature than most, complained he 'didn't run to be a backbencher and he may have been kept out because he is the epitome of talking back. In a celebrated case in the early 1980s, when Tory backbenchers rarely stood up to successful premier William Davis, Kells complained he could not get appointed even to a joe job as a parliamentary assistant to a minister. Kells suggested this may have been because he supported Bob Welch instead of Davis for leader and won in a riding where party organiz- ers had wanted another Tory to run and that thereafter Davis 'wouldn't look me in the eye.' Kells never got in a Davis cabinet,but his suc- cessor Frank Miller, thought him capable enough to make him environment minister. Harris may remember only that he rocks boats. But Harris may have doled out his most cava- lier treatement to the Tories' leading woman MPP, Dianne Cunningham, who had been dep- uty leader and education critic and said she would 'love' to be education minister. Hams made Ernie Eves his deputy premier and put Cunningham in intergovenmental af- fairs, where she will be little noticed. Premiers normally act as their own intergove- nernmental affairs minister and Hams not Cun- ningham so far has been talking on Quebec sep- aration and reviewing federal -provincial finances with Primer Minister Jean Chretian. Cunningham ran against Harris for leader in 1990 and argued he was 'yesterdays man', too far to the right and did not grasp issues. The lesson may be do not cross Mike Harris.