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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1984-11-14, Page 2Huron X ositor SINCE 1880, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST JOCELYN A. SHRIER, Publisher RON WASSINK, Editor Incorporating "i rutisa Is Post - 10 Main Street 527-0240 Published In SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc, Ontario Community Newspaper Aseoolattoo Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union Cn international Prase Institute Subscription rates: Canada $18.75 a, iiirit,radvenoe) Outside Canada $55.00 a year (In advance) Single Copies -50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTA,6O, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1984 Second class mall regiatration Number 0696 Starving eed aid A recent newspaper article concerning the famine in Ethiopia Is alarming. The heading says, "Ethiopians sell aid food for profit". The famine was first made public over one year ago but the announcement had little effect on the rest of the world. It wasn't until a BBC news team stopped In the famine stricken district of the African country that the world took notice. Since that news broadcast one month ago, financial aid has been flooding Into the offices of world relief organizations. It's money needed to purchae necessary foodstuffs for thousands, possibly millions of starving Ethiopians. Food In the form of wheat and milk powder has been transported to Ethiopia. Though we've heard of problems transporting the food to the starving peoples once the food gets Into Ethiopian ports, it's .now apparent that food Is getting through and the people are being fed. But thousands are still starving. The news article says wedding feasts are enjoyed by the country's upper middle class and urban stores sell food Intended for the suffering, says Dr. John Roder, a medical researcher who recently worked in Africa. ''I took pictures at a wedding feast for 1,000 people. Forty sheep were slaughtered, five ox9rr-eaten, and enormous quantities of fruits and vegetables were consumed. That's life for- the upper middle class." The doctor says when he and his wife were shopping In the capital, Addis Ababa, they saw food tins and boxes on shelves that were clearly stamped, "Not for Retail". "The government has several state-run co-op farms, growing bountiful irrigated crops -- tens of thousands of acres of corn, rice and fruits. They export It. They're selling It to buy God knows what -- military equipment?" Even If this situation is true as the doctor says, we as concerned citizens must still show our obligation to feed the starving thousands. At the same time, we must also realize that there are thousands more i3farving people in third world countries. And they too are dying from malnutrition and undernourishment. They, like the Ethiopians need our aid. But once the situation has been cleared up, when the people have been fed and kids have a full belly, the United Nations should step In and examine the situation. If what the doctor says Is true, then the government of that country must be made accountable for Its actions. To live in luxury while the poor citizens of Ethiopia suffer and die Is unjustified. We cannot continue to let this happen. - R.W. Please sign A reminder to our readers: While we welcome your letters, all letters to the editor, even those submitted on behalf of organizations, must bear the signature of the author before they can be published. This Is the only means by which we are able to verify the authenticity of such letters. A kick in the teeth COUNTRY CORNER by Larry Dillon The pork producers of Ontario have shown an amazing ability to make a bad situation orse. They have recently published a document that will make banks, government and the general public reconsider any assistance they had been considering for the troubled producers. Times are tough for livestock producers. Business decisions made by them a few years ago. decisions which seemed safe and logical at the time, have placed many farmers in financial difficulty. Some have even been forced to leave the business. It's easy to see now that expansion or modernization of an operation was a bad decision. At the time it was the logical thing to do. There was a need and a demand for . more pork. The banks and the government encouraged those decisions because the.y too believed that it was the right thing to do. We now have a situation on Canadian farms where 20 per cent of the producers are in serious financial trouble and a further 20 per cent can see indications that their operations are faltering -- that's nearly half of the farmers in this country. Low commodity prices and declining values of land and farm buildings are eating away the remaining equity that these farmers hold. The Farm Credit Corporation has released a study that says Canada's most productive farmers are carrying most of the debt. The young efficient farmer with IoW equity who is trying to build up his operation is the one who is suffering the most. The Canadian Bankers Association agrees. They say that many of their customers who are suffering financial difficulties are young productive farmers. it's the declining farm values that are causing worry for them. If their farm customers are unable to generate a profit then they cannot repay loans. The banker must protect his loan by foreclosing on the assets. Agriculture Minister John Wise has temporarll?stopped the Farm Credit Corpor- ation from foreclosing on financially troubled farm operations. He is concerned that one in every eight Farm Credit loans is now in arrears. He needs time to study the situation. The Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board apparently disagree with these opin- ions. In their recently released "Future of the Industry Study" they blame the producers themselves, They say: Producers. on aver- age. lack good production and financial knowledge. Producers have difficulties put- ting production strategies into perspective. Producers have difficulty assessing the merits of technology. Their report says it is appropriate for some to opt out as managers". Releasing a report like this at the present time demonstrates an unbelievable ability for bad timing. Just as the banks, the govern- ment and the public start to agree that complaints of the farmers are justified and the situation needs to be corrected, the pork producers claim that they are incompetent after all. Their actions remind me of man going down in a hard fight, then kicking himself in the teeth in order to help his opponent. OPINION READING newspaper's is part of education at right are,9:bble Nolan, Susanne Pursley, theSeaforth Public School. Shown from left to Jim Shortreed, Brad Taylor and Brian Love. (Waselnk photo) What beef are we marketing? SENSE AND NONSENSE by Ron Wassink I've got a beef to pick with advertising representatives who dream up television commercials, 1 realize commercials pay for television programming, but some of them are terrible. B,ut at the same time I enjoy others. It's amazing that a story can be told in 30 seconds or less. And such short stories not only have a beginning and ending, but have a plot. I can imagine about 10 people sitting around a boardroom table, laughing 'and joking as they think up jingles and catchy lines for commercials. My favorites are the Bell Telephone commercials used extensively a few years ago; the chocolate bar commercial with lonely cowboys sitting around a squeaky old gramaphone; and the soft sell kiddy commer- cials. _ Recently I've come to detest a hamburger commercial and a beef commercial. I'm surprised that feminist types haven't com- plained loudly of the beef advertisement. I think it's misleading and offensive to women. It starts out with a shapely female on a diving board. Just as she dives, the typical smooth voiced male narrator says, "Beef is lean". And just as the girl lifts off, viewers are shown a slab of beef and the narrator says. "Beef is good". Am 1 to assume that the shapely diver is lean beef? And that the slab of meat is a part of her body? Unfortunately, that's the impression many people are left with. The end of the commercial shows a beautiful lady dressed for a night on the town, She's wearing pink. And as she walks and gives viewers a seductive look, the narrator says, "Looking good beef". Beef producers are suffering due to low commodity prices. They better start com- plaining to their local beef boards or representatives because such commercials are bound to do more harm than good. Beef farmers are having a hard enough time making ends meet. And if there's a "Ban Beef" campaign, they're sure to suffer. 1 recommend that the commercial in question be taken off the air. It's in poor taste. The second commercial I have a beef with is the hamburger where 'we are forced to listen to an old, squeaky voice demanding to know "Where's the beef". After about the third or fourth "Where's the beef" in one commercial, I'm just about ready to jump up from the chair and shove my foot down the throat of my television picture tube. So far, I've restrained myself. I think we must ask ourselves, as should the companies who are buying the commer- cials, what kind of meat are we trying to market? It's time Canadians stop whining SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley Aren't you sick to death of the gloom and doom the media is imposing on us? I am. Let's have a little light and cheer in thc country for a change. Sure, our economic situation is a mess. Of course, we have high unemployment. Natur- ally, inflation is not wrestled to the ground. but has us pinned two rounds out of three. But this is happening all over the world, and we're about 500 per cent better off than most of the rest of the people in said world. Do you live on a sampan in Singapore or Hong Kong, existing on a handful of rice a day? Those people don't have high mort- gage rates, high interest rates. They have nothing, except what native cunning and hard work feed their'bellies. --- Does a nice lady in Somaliland or Eritrea bring you into the office and chat about which welfare program you should apply for? Your children are eating mud, because there's nothing else. Are you stuck in Ulster. as a Catholic. without a hope of getting a job from thc Protestants, your children dirty, hungry. growing as vicious as small animals who are starving? Are you black, with a good chance of getting your head pulverized by a white policeman if you say anything but "Yes. sir"? Are you suffering from "nerves" and taking all kinds of pills from your very well fed doctor, while millions of people in the world have rickets and ringworm and elephantiasis and bleeding bowels because they don't even know what a vitamin pill looks like? Are your little boys running around barefoot in the rain, selling their sisters for a cigarette or a chocolate bar? Nope, they are probably riding around on bicycles. and whining because their allowance doesn't run to more than a carton of french fries and a . Dairy Queen every day. Are you worried about whether you should spend $S0 or a little more on a wedding present when in most countries most mothers are wondering whether a cow or a bushel of maize is a suitable dowry? And they haven't a cow or any maize. Tut and tut and tut. We are in an economic depression. many people are unemployed, our government seems to be living in Alice in Wonderland, with its ridiculous six and five desperate attempt to appear credible. But when have you last missed a meal? When have you been cold, cold, cold? When is the last time some cop stopped you on the street and asked for identity papers? When is the last time somebody pounded on your door at 4 a.m. and you shivered with fear. knowing what was coming? When have you last been hit on the head with a club for saying "Trudeau is a fink?" There's lots wrong with this country, but there is a hell of a lot more right with it, when we take a look around. We read about farmers and small business- men and big companies going brtlke. Well, that's the capitalist system, and that's the system we embrace. We don't hear much when the farmers have a bumper crop and spend the winter driving south in their Buicks. We seldom hear about the small businessman who's making a quiet fortune, unless he's suddenly become an entrepreneur and is a big businessman. We scarcely hear a word when a huge company makes a huge profit. But now the tears are flowing. we need a Wailing Wall, located about Winnipeg, and thousands of paper towels to wipe up the tears. Help from the government means help from you and me.— Come e-Come on. Canadians, let's stop whining. My father and mother didn't whine during the Big Depression. They did the best they could, and desperately tried to avoid going on Relief, now euphemistically called Welfare. Get rid of your boat. Sell your second car, There is such a thing as walking. Cut your kid's allowance to zilch, and let them earn it by working. So you like steak? Eat hamburg, Stop buying that crap from California and Florida in the winter: lettuce for51,50,,mostly water; grapes. oranges. celery, those little hard bitter tomatoes. Eat spuds and porridge. They're good for you..Dig a root cellar under your patio deck and fill it with carrots and turnips. Get a couple of chickens. and if they don't lay, cat them. Cut out those long distance calls about nothing, and write a letter. Wear a sweater and keep your thermostat down. We can lick inflation. but not by living the way we do. We can lick unemployment, with some guts. But not government guts. There aren't any And if you're out of work. take your U.I.. but get looking for something else. This country still has limitless opportunities. if you want to work. Ask the immigrants. If you don't. you'll become like those millions in Britain, during the first depression. who just gave up and sat around on the dole, steadily eroding their very souls. End of sermon. But cheer up and forget the headlines, There's a place for you. if you have any guts. Warring countries and squabbling children BEHIND THE SCENES by Keith Roulston Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister, Ottawa Dear Sir: While i must congratulate you on the open-mindedness of naming socialist Ste- phen Lewis as ambassador to the United Nations 1 must admit some disappointment. 1 had hoped you might really innovative and appoint me. Now i know that outwardly 1 might not appear to have the qualifications for the job but I'm sure I'd be up to it. Can the fighting between the Russians and the Afghans really be any more vicious than the fighting that goes on in my kitchen every night about whose turn it is to do the dishes? Can the squabbling between the Israt'lies and the Palestinians about who was really in Palestine first really be any worse then the fighting about which child got to the bathroom door first? Can the U.S. and Nicaragua scream at each other any louder than two children who both want to answer the phone when it rings? 1 tell you, Mr. Prime Minister. a father of four children has more experience being a peacekeeper than the entire United Nations General Assembly, In international disputes there are generally two sides to every question. In household disputes there can be four, or even six if mom and dad have their own views of what has happened or what should happen. Since you've already filled the position at the U.N. however, perhaps you'd consider me the next time an opening comes up on the bench of the Supreme Court. 1 know 1 m not a lawyer, (if i was I'd probably already be sitting in parliament), but 1 think 1 could bring some unique experiences to the delibera- tions. For one thing, the histrionics of lawyers pleading their cases would seem pretty simple compared t'o the antics a son can come up with to get his side of an argument. The complications of a case before the supreme court can't be any more mind-bogg- ling than trying to decide which of three different versions of how a fight started in another room is the proper one. If you choose one side, two inner people will wail about the injustice of it all, how you always let so-and-so get away with everything and how you don't really love them (when did Bore Laskin have to listen to that argument?). Pressures of the job? How about th pressures of making decisions at a rate c about four an hour when the kids are home knowing full well that someone is going t think he or she is a victim of injustice n matter what side you come down on, You'v listened to all those experts tell you for year the importance of being firm but just wit children, of not creating traumatic situation for children. Knowing that in any give argument you've got a S0-50 chance coming down on the wrong side you can se yourself creating an anti -social rebel who' someday rob a bank or write naughty disgusting things in lipstick on the washrooi mirror at school. And when caught he/sh will fall on the sympathy of the court sayin how they were abused and misunderstood i home. Now i know I'm a little young for th Supreme.Court compared to the usual age c . candidates but believe me, by the next time there's an opening, say next year, 1'11 feel lik-- I'm 73. Yours sincerely. Etc. A