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The Citizen, 1991-01-30, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 30, 1991. Opinion Be well informed - shut off the TV For a war that is brought to you live and in colour, the current Gulf War still leaves people as ignorant of what’s going on than when war was reported by messengers two centuries ago. People seem to be more confused by what they see on TV than well-informed. Take, for instance, the fact army surplus stores in Toronto can’t stock gas masks fast enough to meet the demand of panicked Canadians. What possibility is there Toronto will have a gas attack? Drug stores near the Pickering nuclear generating station have sold hundreds of bottles of drugs used to fight radiation poisoning as people fear a terrorist attack that would spill radiation into the surrounding suburbs. Canadian Arabs report people calling them “terrorists”. Children, watching the missiles and the bombers, feel terror, worry their own homes will be under attack, not realizing the war is half a world away. Special courses are being undertaken to try to help them deal with the trauma. Despite all this, we’re not getting the information we really need to make us well-informed citizens. The media gets only one side of the story and only as much of that as the allied military will allow reported. The scenes of the horror of bombing are safely on the other side of the Iraqi border but out of the reach of journalists. Iraq in turn only lets out what news it wants the world to see. Both sides understand the power of the media and want to use it as another weapon like the planes and rockets. For the person trying to keep from being manipulated, radio and the newspapers are likely the most informative sources of facts without manipulation. Even then the facts can be twisted by the censors but the opportunities to make the war seem glamorous by pictures of video-game-like weapons are reduced. The facts are more likely to get through the glitter. Television is shaped by pictures. Any story that doesn’t have a picture immediately isn’t as important for television news editors. Those things that have stunning pictures get big play, even if they really aren’t that important in the long run. If someone wants to be truly informed he or she would probably be best off to click off the TV and use the time for just about anything else. They can get all the war news they really need to be informed by listening for a few minutes a day to radio or reading a few of the dozens of war-related stories in the daily newspapers. The world goes on One of the obscenities of the Gulf War is that it has obliterated nearly all other news from the newscasts and newspaper pages. For most people, however, the problems that were there two weeks ago are still the most pressing things in their lives. People are still being laid off and facing bleak futures. People are still sleeping outside in cardboard boxes in the freezing temperatures of a Toronto winter. People are still being killed by drunk drivers. While we’re worrying about the future of Kuwait and Iraq, our own country may be breaking up. Recent polls show people outside Quebec overwhelmingly don’t want to see more concessions to keep Quebec in Canada while polls show more and more Quebecers are determined their province should be a sovereign country. Polls released Monday show 47 per cent of people in Quebec feel they will be worse off if Canada breaks up and 46 per cent of people outside Quebec feel Canada will be worse off if Quebec leaves, yet both sides seem ready to call it quits. Canadian shoppers continue to abandon their hometown businesses to shop across the border. Estimates say $350 million in sales were lost by Ontario stores last year and the problem is growing. High interest, the high dollar and the GST make Canada even more uncompetitive. Allied governments were appalled at the oil slick in the Gulf which they blamed on Iraq yex have always been a little more complacent about pollution in their own backyards. Stunning as the news from the war is, our media owes it to us to not let so many other issues go unnoticed in the race to wring every last detail out of war coverage. Life does go on and we must be kept informed or the democracy we brag about protecting in time of war, will be hollow. Blyth Brook in winter Looking backward ONE YEAR AGO JANUARY 31, 1990 Debbie Craig of RR 2, Blyth was crowned 1990 Junior Farmer Queen. She also received the Presidents Award for Outstanding First Year Member. Kim Exel of Brussels and her fellow choir members visited the Blyth Christian Reformed congre­ gation to entertain the crowd with gospel singing. They are the first integrated choir from the Missis­ sippi Delta and were on an aware­ ness tour for the Mississippi Chris­ tian Family Services (MCFS). Ms. Exel has been with MCFS since November of 1989 when she saw an ad for the centre in a Christian Reformed Publication. The Old Mill, South of Blyth, was broken into during the evening of Tuesday, January 23. Thousands of dollars worth of merchandise were stolen. Staff Sgt. Turnbull of the Goder­ ich O.P.P. detachment said the factory outlet was broken into between 10 and 10:30 p.m. The perpetrators entered by smashing the glass in the front door of the building and removed over 70 ladies’ leather jackets of various sizes and styles. The merchandise was estimated at $23,325. The grades 6, 7, and 8 students of Brussels Public School spent the day skiing at Talisman Mountain Resort. They received an hour lesson and then enjoyed them­ selves on the slope for the rest of the day. Brussels Public also participated in a volleyball tournament at F. E. Madill in Wingham, against other schools such as Grey Central, Howick, Turnberry, East Wawa- nosh and Wingham. Stephanie Lentz of Blyth receiv­ ed First Class Honours with Dis­ tinction with a mark of 95 in Grade 2 Rudiments in her exam with the Royal Conservatory of Music. THREE YEARS AGO JANUARY 27, 1988 Competing in a province-wide community newspaper competi­ tion, The Citizen was named the winner of three awards for general excellence. In the under 2,500 circulation category of the Ontario Community Newspaper Associa­ tion’s (OCNA) Editorial Awards Competition for papers issued in 1987, The Citizen won second best overall. In the same class, it was judged Continued on page 7 The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year [$19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.] [$40.00 Foreign]. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. Editor & Publisher, Keith Roulston Advertising Manager, Dave Williams Production Manager, Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968