6 — Wednesday, July 14, 1999 — North Shore News north shore news VIEWPOINT Waterfront fiasco fiasco over the proposed $900 million Vancouver water- front convention centre is a new low watermark in a reign of low water- marks for the NDP. The convention centre plan and its accompanying cruise ship facility expansion at downtown Vancouver’s Canada Place called for, among other things, a 1,000-rcom hotel and shop- ping complex. Apart from providing more Lower Mainland convention and room facili- Ges, the project would have provided thousands of construction industry jobs. But when Premier Glen Clark and Co. are at the helm anything can happen. In round one of the convention fias- co, NDP Investment Minister Mike Facaworth made cost-conscious noises about capping the contribution of B.C. taxpayers to the project at $300 mil- lion. Fresh from such fiscal disasters as the fast ferry program, the boys from Victoria had, we were told, finally learned a lesson or two about fiscal responsibility. Ajas, there was one small glitch: con- tributions from elsewhere to bankroll the balance of the centre’s cost were more than a little tenuous. With the NDP’s record of business incompetence, is there any wonder? Round two followed quickly with Clark re-jigging that public money cap to $530 million — a mere 76% drop- kick to the wallet in the matter of a day. Round three: the centre sinks slowly in the west with another black eye dealt to the credibility of B.C. business and government. Doesn’t this government know any- thing about anything? | mailbox Take more care with school funds © Des Bator: 7) Lama 15-year-old Grade 9 seudent at Balmoral secondary sctivol, and I have many concerns zbout the ‘use: of school funds, I see first- hand funds used on unnecessary items. , The first major issue is the number of computers that our school has. We are always hearing about the new hardware for the computers, yand new Printers for all three of our computer LAS. i. hear these announcements being made I wonder; actly wher will my Sciencé 9 rextbook fll apart? Cur schcol fae t bought new. textbooks in about five years. . This may seem like a short time to all of you, but just think «fora monient: a new ‘computer costs about $1,500; a Science 9 textbook costs less than $50. The sécond imajor issue that concems me is the amount < that has been cut back from our band program. Recently there * have been riamers about the carbon dioxide fevels in the band yfortable because of its size and the number of people in the “room. The levels are said to be a lot higtier than usual. Vfeel: chat’ this.is‘very' unsafe because playing a musical instrument requires a lot of air to make a good sound and if that air is not available then someone could faint. vy 3.The:third ‘and final major issue that concerns me is our extras -curricular sports teams. alt seems to me that almost every year a new sports team "receives new. basketball jerseys or rugby shirts with the match- ing school-coloured shorts. - .- Meanwhile, all of the regular gym students are fighting over who gets to use a good badminton racquet, because he or she had ‘4 use a broken racquet last class. ‘Something needs to be done to monitor school funds more cael so that some necessary programs and items, such 4 as Bym Fete Ariat and textbooks, are not neglected. . mini ; forth Shore News, fousided a 1969 as 29 independent suburan netenapes and qualified under Scheduts $11, Paragraph 111 of the Gromse Tax Act, 65 published each Wednesday, __ Friday and Suriday by North Shore Free Press As. and cistibute to every doos onthe North Sark Fancher . ~ ‘Cree Sees 995-2131 (127) 61.582 (erape rasan Weshescay Frcay 8 Sands) Distribution Manager $08-1387 (126 Let’s try being ladies and gents I never dreamed Pd one day take pity on militant fenxinists. But they've recently been suffering such a bashing thar I’m starting to feel almost pro- tective towards them. For 30 years or more their story has been that men, by nature, were bullying brutes ‘who beat up regularly on their helpless, cringing wives and bed-mates, some- times inilicting physical injury. By extension, male dominance also marginalized women carcer-wise — the places favoured for them by their male masters being the kitchen and the bed- room. One of the spin-off messages to women who wanted both a relationship and a career was that they might be bet- ter off with a congenial lesbian. Latterly, however, fewer and fewer - women have been buying that message. As women chalk up more and more suc- cesses in business and the professions, proud femininicy — spearheaded by the REAL WOMEN movement — has been increasingly winning ground from Gloria Steinem’s Amazons of the ’70s. With women now heading UBC and General Motors of Canada, and flooding medicine and the law, Ms.Steinem’s gender-wars view of life looks more than a little * threadbare. Now, the cruelest blow yet ro militant feminism -— an updated study of 705 _married or common law couples in the PETER SPECK Pubiisher — SaEIST Cet) | Photography Manaper - S231 (163) . Tesearch, Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science which says that while male violence against women must be stopped, female violence against men has hitherto been almost totally ignored. Reassuringly, the lead researcher is a female, Simon Fraser University’s Dr. Marilyn Kwong. . Her key findings: Minor violence (push- ing, grabbing, throwing things) was committed by 10.8% of the men, by 12.4% of the women. Serious vio- lence (choking, kicking, using a weapon) involved 2.5% of the men and 4.7% of the women. Meanwhile, 62% of the men and 52% of the women agreed BOTH partners were guilty of volence. Asked who initiated the worst conflicts, a surprising 67% of the women accepted the blame, while only 26% of them said it was the man’s fault. The significance of Dr: Kwong’s- owever, lics not only in its per- centages. The original survey was a y conducted in 1987, but when published in 1989, che male percentages were ignored ‘and only the female percentages quoted — thus supporting une politically correct stereotype 10 years ago that the sole victims of domestic violence were innocent and defenceless women. Hence, ‘our present 400 publicly funded shelters for battered women, but not one for bat- tered men. Calgary University sociologist Eugen Lupri — whose research has found similar patterns of violence against men — is not -. ‘until july 31. surprised, “It happens all the time,” he is quoted as saying. “ ... Feminists them- selves use our studies, but they only pub: lish what they like.” Nor, by the way, is this revised picture of male-female conflict confined to live-in relationships. A separate study just’out this week by researchers from Regina and Wilfrid Lauricr Universities shows 39% of men surveyed said they'd suffered vio- lence while on a date, compared to' 26% of women. So what docs 2 this upsetting stuff teach us, Gloria? oO First, that violence by either sex against the ather is bad, bad, bad. Spouse-bashing was never on the Garden of Eden agenda. Second, that men are not automatically monsters, nor women » automatically saints (check the zoolo books for animals and insects where female is described as “the deadlier of the: ces species”). Third, truth will always eventu- VE ly triumph over fies. "Lastly how much cnergy would be released for far berter purposes if we.all © finally put Gloria out of a job by simply * treating the opposite sex {notably ous * ; pon | like LADIES and GENTLE® ot MEN! nS ANOTHER DOUBLEHEADER this: month at West Van Library Gallery . with A Surface of Silk, flowing designs on! silk canvas by Helena Buchan, and Face: Through an Assortment of Media di Robert D, Garriock — both on splay ag Qo. . WRIGHT OR WRONG: Forgive y your enemies, but never forget their. names: (John BE. Kennedy). . atid t@uiniser com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR” Lettérs must Include your name, full address & telephone numbec - VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca © Classified Manager ., 906-6222 BE) Entire cots @ 1999 North Shore Five Press Lid: All rights eeserved.