Compelied Dou Collins other hand ONE gathers from the letters page that I am not the Iranians’ favorite fellow. Pity. Like them, I admire Persia’s history. As Nassreen Filsoof has pointed out, it goes back a tong way. But what that his- tory has to do with me I don’t know, | have never dis- puted it. a The rage on the letters page springs from my having stated there was an Iranian move to win the liberal nom- ination in North Van- Lonsdale by franians acting as a bloc. Their failed candi- date had declared publicly he would take the Iranian vote to some other party. My comment was that if the rest of us did such a thing it would be condemned as racism, Meanwhile, a majority of the North Van District Council have voted to set up “diversity sensitivity train- ing” for’staff, plus what amounts to a preferential hir- ing system for the multicults. . In short, the staff are to be brainwashed. Will they have . to say a prayer to Allah every morning, :00? There is a connection between the page rage and what the district is doing. But first let me quote froma letter from a chap in North Van. It arrived after Mis. Filsoof responded to my piece on the election shenanigans. The headline .. - over her effort was “Proud to. be an Iranian." “My man said her fetter amused him. He. also said I could use his name. But f ‘don't think [ should put him at risk, And he went on: “Althongh the claim of * Quarterly Income } - ® Liquid og ye Tax Savings i i © Safely of Capital Bank of Nova Scotia PR.H as of Juno 14/1996 Minimum investment $25,000 Chris Carter Financial Advisor AAIDLAND WA WALWYN acute CHwIF THUR ING™ Member CIPF *intarest Equivalent Yield the correspondent for 2,000 years of civilization [in Persia} may be factual. | am not aware that the principle of democracy ever raised its heud in that ancient land. “In fact. | believe that there's an unbroken history of despotism, repression and unbelievable cruelty which is continued today in the name of religious conviction. “In addition, there was no great influx of Iranian immi- gration into Canada during the previous ‘royal’ regime of the Shah. “The persons who [as Filsoof said] have a substan- tial amount of intellectual and financial wealth were not prepared to abandon their positions of privilege in that regime for the sake of demo- cratic princi- ple. Their ox was not being gored. “If there is any doubt about the cor- rectness of my view, one has only to note another com- ment, which was that Iranian- Canadians left Iran due to the presence of a dictatorship. “If true, there would have been a flood of immigration dating from the time of Jacques Cartier. “By this statement Filsoof provides her approval of the Shah and his despotism. secret police, torture cham- bers, etc., and implies that the Shah was benevolence personified. “Is it any wonder that J am amused’? Dear Tilley's: 44 The Shah was then. This is now. And votes are votes. FY - ing, She RY, AMAR REO MS IRE SS FRE Tae “Finally, | note that Filsoof does not challenge your assertions about blac voting by an ethnic group when their political ambi- tions are thwarted. She also claims that she and others de not need any advice from you. “Perhaps not, but even less do the rest of us need any advice or political lead- ership from anyone who wants to regain a position of privilege enjoyed under an ‘approved dictator.’ “ Good point. But our local elected representatives (who did not shout about “diversi- ty” or special hiring pro- grams when they stood for office) have either forgotten, never knew or could not care less about such things. The Shah was then. This is now, And votes are votes. it was pres- sure from obvious quar- ters that per- suaded them to pass their “sensitivity training” rul- The same sort of thing gees on in * Conimunist China in the name of “re education.” Like my correspondent, I too was amused. 1 was amused that Mayor Murray Dykeman and Co. could be so jelly-like. And amazed that they could think it was because of my puny efforts that their move could be considered to be contra- versial. Or so Coun. Janice Harris suggested. 8 November, 1995 Westmount, Quebes As you can see, Céleste’s Tiiley hat stays on -- while boating, digging, running, playing in the waves, and rolling down hills. I knew it would stay in place in high winds, but mostly I am impressed that it stays on because she doesn't take it off! This is the first hat we have found that Céleste is happy to wear. And given her fair skin and active lifestyle, that is important. ‘The hat may never go to cxotic foreign countries, but it certainly is getting lots of wear! Thanks! Melanie & Céleste Bond Our interesting stores are open daily from * 10 to 5:30, Vancouver is open Sunday 12 to 5 ° 2401 Granville at 8th 732-4287 1194 Marine, N.Van 987-6424 Catalogue, phone orders, 1-800-665-4287 = Tilley Encurables rmity Be good, Conform. Never tet your slip show. This is Canada in the ‘90s. The staff will now wrin- kle their brows and talk about the three “D*s" Doug and the Delights of Diversity. 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