6 - Wednesday, May 24, 1989 - North Shore News INSIGHTS Licensed dictators the best democracy A FRIENDLY WORD OF WARNING to those hundreds of thousands of young Chinese idealists who’ve thronged Beijing’s Tiananmen Square: democracy ain’t QUITE all that it’s cracked up to be. I hope they get it but I wouldn’t want them to be disappointed. It WON'T mean day-to-day people power. If they get anything like Canadian democracy, they'll find that the best it can do is license benevolent dictators to run the ~ show for three to four years at a time. There’s no restriction, of course, on noisy protests from opponents of the elected regime — provided they leave their baseball bats and gasoline bombs at home. Democracy, too, can use guns and tanks when the protest gets too rough. But in practice the protests almost always end the same as the way T.S. Eliot saw the world end- ing — ‘‘not with a bang but a whimper.”’ The protesters finally sink back exhausted and government con- tinues to do precisely what it wants. At any rate, until the day looms when the peasants have 3 GEORGE PHILIPS ...CAVU **retiremeni. timely development. ity. Wo freewheeling A CCIDENTS INVOLVING cyclists and cars and The Traffic Safety Directorate review, if it is to have any meaning, should seriously look at establishing mandatory road safety training for all cyclists. Bikes are freedom machines. But that freedom shouldn’t mean freedom from responsibility. another chance to throw it out in the polling booth and elect a new gang — which will treat them ex- actly the same. That’s why Brian Mulroney and Michael Wilson —- their next E- Day four safe years away — will happily continue to fight their def- icit with a miserly $2 billion in cosmetic spending ‘‘economies’”’ versus nearly $8 billion extra seized from protesting but powerless tax- payers. They know the noise will soon subside. Like happened in B.C. after Bill Vander Zalm passed Biil 19. In the uproar which followed, organized labor’s rage was supposed to bring Victoria to its knees. But when the hullabaloo died away, the gov- ernment was still firmly on its feet and the collective bargaining pi v- cess had, if anything, improved. At the civic level, it’s the same picture. After a year of stormy public demonstrations, a confused referendum and expensive court action, West Van now has to ac- cept, willynilly, those twin towers to be built at Taylor and Marine. Just as Mayor Don Lanskail and a majority of council always planned — despite clear opposition from over 50 per cent of Tiddlycovians. So, dear gentle Chinese students, as song as you understand all this about democracy, good luck to yOu. But please remember how Winston Churchill described it: “*The worst form of government — except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”" ake WRAP-UP: A world globe in- scribed ‘‘May all your days be CAVU”’ (ceiling and visibility un- cyclists and pedestrians are becoming all-too- ommon news. The recent move by Soliciter General Angus Ree to have Keith Godfrey, the ap- pointed chairman of a new Traffic Safety Directorate, review bicycle operation standards, is a welcome and When bicycles and pedestrians share a right-of-way the wrong way, the pedestrian ends up the loser. When motor vehicles and bicycles collide, the unfertunate meeting can be disasterous. Motor Vehicle Branch statistics for 1987 list the B.C. carnage. There were 2,585 bicycle accidents in 1987. Twenty people were killed while cycling, and cyclist in- juries totalled 2,230. The statistics do not include reports of pedestrian-cyclist accidents. The numbers cannot be simply written off as an ac- ceptable burden society must collectively bear in the name of pursuing an increasingly popular leisure activ- can do! limited) was the gift from Japan Air Lines colleagues to West Van’s Capt. George Philips on his retirement from flying this month as JAL’s Chief Pilot (Foreign Crews). A veteran originally flying out of Yellowknife, NWT, in the Grant McConachie days of Cana- dian Pacific, George joined JAL in 1968 and — now 60 — will con- tinue his association with JAL in the ground post of Vice-President (Foreign Crews) ... Congrats to North Van native son Carl Men- doza, a B.Sc in geological engineering from UBC, on winning the Governor General’s gold medal for academic excellence at the University of Waterloo ... Those oils by Terrisn Adems, the featured art display at North Van District Hall from tomorrow, May 25, through June 21 are worth seeing — hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ... And slap my wrist sharply about Molly Coney, nursing supervisor at LGH, whose picture appeared in our Mother’s Day item (Sunday Brunch, May 14). But alas, the caption, based on information submitted at the time, incorrectly identified her as ‘“‘head nurse Sybil Haalon,”’ Sorry about that, Molly — and Sybil! WRIGHT OR WRONG: Of course there’s such a thing as luck. How else could you explain your enemies’ successes? Photos submitted BUCKS FROM DUCKS...funds from North Van Rotary Club’s Great Capilano River Duck Race bought a video camera (top) for North Van Piaycare Special Needs Preschool — presented to director Ellen Meunier by Rotary’s Herold Stringer — and (bottom) hydraulic hand-lift for North Shore Association for the Mentally Handicapped — handed over to packaging manager Marion Kirk by Rotary’s Ken Bassam, with Bob Brown (left) of Commander Warehouse Equipment looking on. : NEWS photo Tom Burley BOUNCING ON a trampotine can be fun but could you keep it up for 24 hours? Thirteen-year-old Sentinet student Danielle Wensauer and 19 of her friends will try to do just that when they hold a trampoline mara- thon on May 27 and 28. The students will spell one another off in an attempt to keep the trampoline bounc- ing for 24 hours. The students are collecting pledges and proceeds from the event are being donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. To pledge your financial support to the students call Danielle, who is organizing the event, at 926-9659. Pictured on the trampoline are Danielle Wensaver (left) and Marc Wensauer; (background, left to right) Angela Pegg, Kate Evans and Meghan Fullerton. Publisher ........... Peter Speck Managing Editor... . Barrett Fisher Associate Editor... Noel Wright Advertising Directur . Linda Stewart North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent Suburban newspaper an Suaihed unger Schedule i. 4139 Lonsdale Avenue, agra ol the Excise Tax Act, is eacl —_—— _ Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free North Vancouver, B.C. MEMBER Press Lid and distributed lo every door on the North V7M 2H4 Shore, Second Class Mat Registratian Number 3885 Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year. 59,1 70 (average, Wednesday Mailing rales avanabie on request. Submissions are Friday & Sunday) welcome but we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited maternal including manuscripts and piclures a which should be accompanied by a Stamped, addressed envelope. Entire contents © 1989 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. 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