The Marth Shore Sirws ic publichod by Herth Store Free Press Ltd., Publishes Petor Speck, from 1139 Loneéele iwenue PETER SPECK Publisher $85-2131 (161) Distribution Mariager Creative Services 988-1387 (524). 985-2131 (1 Monae 27) - & Main Office Fax- Gockes-Hews 985-2131 (114) McCresie-Sports/Commoni S85-2038 (147) ” e ot lard Shere Letters must include your name, fu address & telephone number. VIA internet: trenshaw @ direct.ca COMPUTER BBS - 880-8027 User ID:maitbox « Password:letters Pocaslicgat te Kos Entice contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved, Rews viewpoint FLU THiS Wit Type A-NaN CHUNG. SORRY BOSS, 1 CANT MAKE IT IN TODAY. 1 GOT THAT NASTY FLU BUG Y KNOW... Company is coming irritated by political comments Dear Editor: For some time now I have been irritated with the manner in which Noel Wright pontifi- cates about politics in this or other countries. He appears to believe, as do most politicians, that he alone bas the correct answer to cither our country’s or other country’s problems. Like most politicians, he appears to believe that he knows what is best for the “common man.” His recent column about the forthcoming election’ in Britain is typical of his mus-. ings. _ As is often the case, he completely or conveniently — overlooks some important facts. In monthly - poll -aftéer monthly poll conducted for a newspaper that consistently supports the Tory party, the Tones are found trailing the. Labour. p: in most.of the ” factors people_ consider: when... §- voting. ne These include leadership,” _ handling of the ,economy, * ene a ONDAY, Feb. 24, 1997, will be remembered by the future genera- . ions of our clones as the day when most of us originals realized that mankind had become in a very real way like gods. That ultimzie expression of narcissistic impulse is now within attainable reach. We can clone’ mammals. This means that someone, - somewhere in the world wiil inevitably apply the process in a bid to clone a human. An embryologist in Edinburgh has cloned a -sheep. There are no limits now, according to a Princeton University biology professor. Make no mistake, ethical limits will be tram- "pled. The record shows that the urge to tinker with nature is supported and defined by mar- ’ ket forces. . -Hitler’s ideal of master race is a decisive goose-step closer. Designer warriors will be produced for ready fodder on the battlefield. Peopie will be bred for all kinds of applications. It will begin with other animals — those we use for food and research. We will clone ourselves for spare body parts. You’ve made a mess of that first heart? It’s no problem if you travel through life with an extra. We will replicate ourselves for empathic companionship. After all, nobody understands us the way we do ourselves. We will multiply ourselves because we feel much more comfortable with people around who are just like us. Infidelity will thankfully be a thing of the past. We will arrange to have clones made of those who are the forbidden objects of our Get used to it. With the magic of DNA manipulation we individuals may soon no longer be 2s unique as we think we are. environment, amongst them. | However, if one follows the. British press, as I do,.in my - opinion, the major:problem | for the Tories is their appalling - hypocrisy. ar They talk about family val- ues, honesty and integrity; and :, yet almost. monthly, » Tory - politicians are found wanting .. in these very qualities. This is one of the major, reasons for what would appear : to be their forthcoming defeat, ° a reason which’ Wright appar- ently dismisses as unimportant. - ‘Tt: appears to me that’ the British public believe more: in “common sense” than politics. “J ° Eric Dodds re North Vancouver — shop stewards on guard for thee | HUMOR is all too scarce these days in our public affairs. So hats off last week to Vice-Admiral Larry Murray, Canada’s top military officer. Noting before the Commons defence committee last week how mili- tary salaries have fallen far behind civil service pay, he admitted sympathy for soldiers and officers who want to be unionized. Seems more than a few are now high on the idea after the morale-beating the armed forces have taken as a result of less than £% of them screw- ing up in Somalia. . If you are so underpaid in Chilliwack or Petawawa that you have to moonlight at night in civvies to make ends meet, you don’t take kindly to being stereotyped as a murderer of black teenage thieves in some hell-hole halfway round the globe that you've never even seen. Moreover, there’s a precedent for armed forces unions. In Holland, which has had them for 30 years, they’ve negotiated eight-hour workdays and the right tor male soldiers to wear long hair and earrings. Mark you, the chances of the Dutch ever hav- ing co actually fight for their country’s survival are pretty remote. Asa NATO member, they can depend on the forces of 15 other nations — including Britain, France and Germany — to come to their aid. A comforting thought if their shaggy, earringed troops should happen to down tools for a study session with their shop steward just as an aggressor army approaches the fron- tier. Maybe Canada — which can always rely on Uncle Sam to drive away any really nasty types trying to violate his next door neighbors — could also safely arm its warriors with nothing more lethal than union cards. But if the U.S. Marines were not on call, we'd need ro figure out quite a few details of how our lads in khaki and two shades of blue would function under the command of the president of the Canadian Autoworkers Union. In addition to shoulder-length coiffures and pierced lobes, would they wear uniforms at all — or just hard hats, jeans and work shirts of choice? With a 37-hour week, what about week- end overtime rates? And overnight rates if a non- union enemy attacks in the wee small hours? Under a union contract, of course, everyone would have a designated job, and no messing around with anyone else’s. If the machine-gun- ner gets shot, no heat-of-battle heroics about the nearby medical orderly taking over his weapon. Send back to the hiring hall to check if they have a replacement machine-gunner available. If not, forget it — dead machine-gunners are just as |. entided to job security as live ones! 6° Fascinating reading would also be the union contract clauses regarding job-related injuries covered by the Warkers Compensation Board. Grievances could be filed at any time, even in the middle of the battlefield. If not promptly . addressed, industrial action could follow in the form of work-to-rule (troops stay in their billets “polishing brass) or, after 72 hours’ notice, a fully-fledged strike. One cheering thought, however: experience promises the enemy would have one hell of a problem trying to cross Canadian picket lines. In’ fact, Canadian troops on strike could be our surest form of defence. O Canada, how staunchly sergeant-shop- stewards would stand on guard for thee! Q00 HAPPY BIRTHDAY Friday, Feb. 28, to News Classified boss lady Val Stephenson ... And the same that day to West Van’s Irene Little — even though her next birthday (Feb. 29) is still three years away! 400 : WRIGHT OR WRONG: Leadership is manag- ing to hide your panic from others. — The North Shore News believes strongly in free- dom of ‘speech and the vight of all sides in a debate to be beard. The columnists published in the News present differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily those of the newspaper itself.