The Sorth Shore News is puistished by Nosth Shore Free Press itd., Publisher Peter Speck, from 1138 Lonsdale Avenue Publisher 985-2131 (101) | of) GO5-2031 (114). Slaer 986-2139 (147° Wore Mort then in, fended io ia 1969 a ni aixxter: newspaper and quelified under Schedule 11, Paragraph 011 of the Excise Tax Act, is published cach ‘Weuinesclay, Friday and Sunday by North Shore ree Press Led. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Canads Post ‘Canadan Publications Moi) Sates Product Agreement No. Entire contents ps G 1996 North Shore : 19 a é Free Prass Ld. * AN nghis reserved reserved » public indoor < clients such as - (From a Jan. 17 News story.) : 000 - urban ‘Jan. 12 News Story.) . fat | CANADIAN MILITARY TARGET PRACTICE quotes of the , ane problem is once you get on that road it is like dug: 1s ay 0 geri be North V Vancouver District Coun. 'Emie Crist, on commercial ventures Fe to use public recreation ies. (From a Jan. 17 News 000 aimed at stopping the rente! cf ice to commercial productions. “Tou get a nice sound in the gets nice scund downtown close aroun: Kilgour Shives, 80-year-old virtuoso, on yaral and ~ ig acoustics. (From a * ehistler’s eyes light up. It turns the lights on inside.” World champion whistler Barry Rector, on smiling while whistling and the therapeutic aspects of whistling as a hobby. (From a Jan. 12 News story.) 000 : “In order for all these differ- ent cultures to exist in harmony there has to be a commor thread connecting them ail. That thread must be fan; North Shore businessman Shawn Davis, to city council after he was confronted with a sign on a business written entirely in Farsi, on the need for assimilation and inte- gration in the community. (From a Jan. 15 News sry.) do waAschitectural technologist Graham Eagle, who now designs folk art houses, on his previous career negotiating with municipali- tics. (From a Jan. 15 News story.) 000 “At the le Onion if they don’t want to to you they blow cigar smoke in your face. (And at the Chameleon) They sit at the bar.” Musicians’ joke on the differ- ence between the reactions of audi- ences to live music at the Chameleon and Purple Onion night clubs. (From a Jan. 15 News story.) ‘Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 pm in Highlands United Can Let’s salute our armed forces a little oftener! LIKE most Canadians, I suspect, I applaud Defence Minister Doug Young’s order to the Somalia Commission to wind up fast and go home. © This {8-month, $26 million witch-hunt — howevez justifiable it may have seemed at the beginning —~ has long ago ceased to have any relevance to the lives of ordinary citizens. Except for one important aspect. ¢ pricey probers have undeniably revealed some rottenness hi up. in the colonel-to-general ranks of the armed forces. The top commander has been forced to resign, along with the defence minister who backed him. ; Cover-ups of the il -fated Airborne Regiment’s 1992-93 caper in Somalia. are more obvious than those responsible for them. We've yet to learn . where the buck stops for the death of Somalia teen Shidane Arone. All thar said, however, it is the armed forces themselves that have become the main victims of this costly, drawn-out inquiry. in general, the Baby Boom generation’s attitude to our soldiers, sailors and airmen can best be described as lukewarm. A quiet approval during th heyday of their foreign peace-keeping missions. Appreciation of their. . search-and-rescue function at home. But enthusiasm — never. - Nice to know you'll probably be found if your boat’s engine conks out | off the Charlottes. Good to see a few uniforms around on ceremonial: occasions. But if anything scrious happens, the Yanks will look after us an how — so there’s no harm in regularly slashing thé defence budget. Add to this widespread outlook the running sore’called Somalia and th loss of peace-keeping i innocence in Bosnia; and it’s a. wonder the morale of Canada’s shrinking troops remains as sound as it does. just the same, why do we really seed our own armed forces at all? = Two reasons. First, if we aspire to be a truly independent ove sovercign nation, our armed forces are the last resort for upho! ding the civil power against external or internal threats it cannot fight unaide (If we're not sovereign, fine! Civilian-ize search and om fire all the: rest of the forces and-trust Uncle San to take us over. & Second, by their very nature, the armed forces symbolize th sense. of, loyalty and devotion that any sovereign nation needs in its people.: “As: Barbara Amiel wrote recently, the military is “the only occupation whose’ job description includes a readiness to die for your country.” fest ‘Australia, j its war record so similar te our own, understands almost any Aussic and you'll find a warm regard and admiratior forces thar’ 's too often sadly missing, in . Nowhere. more so Canberra’s awe-inspiring war memoria} and museum — the latter lone’ needing two or more hours to explore on my recent visit.’ Daily it it’s thronged, often with a nderance of Baby Boom and their kids. Viewing the fascinating dioramas of first and sec War battles, and hundreds of other: wactime exhibits, they give sign of ting what they learn about those who fought; ‘ted and ‘stand to do so again for theirs and future ratio : The role of our own armed forces ia Canada’s past id future has — and is — no less vital. Let’s give them’ an Aussie-like salute. a little’o er! call 980: 6071 for info. ais] BLENDING FAMILIES problems? Shin the paren gaa ; WRIGHT OR WRONG: Every strvival kit should include a sense of, humor. —- The North Shore News believes srongl i in freedom of speech and the: right of all sides in a debate to be heard. Tue columnists published in the News present differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily th shose oe the newspaper itself. news viewpoint Ce orcinrlemeratienemanenedsennatattenaadiaeseamederamisemesfeanomunemeneeteannaemammcenbenemennehs Salary song and dance O pleasant salary surprises at your local municipal halls, tax- payers. Proposed raises got majority approval; proposed cuts died on the vine. New North Vancouver City Coun. Bob Fearniey floated a motion before city counci] Monday night secking to cut mayoral and councillor indemmnities in the city by 44%. It went down to defeat ina 5-2 vote. Fearnievy, cynics might arguc, was engaging in a touch of fiscal grandstand- ing. But the rookie counci! member maintains he was trying to convince council to set a good example for the rest of the municipality to follow — belt- tightening -— at least talking about it — being all the rage. Fearnley had his first unsavory taste of political reality. Across town at North Vancouver District Hall taxpayers were dealing with their own unsavory double dose of polit- ical reality. Council there, for all those who might have missed it, were set to up their salaries by 50% untii the proposal ran afoul of public opinion. Input is now being sought from a focal community association as to whether the raise is jus- tified. CRORE OR OER TEE ERATE L ECP EETEOCED EER TEE VOCE Fe ee From this community association: of. one editorial writer the answer is simple: No. A 50% raise for anyone is outrageous.’ in today’s climate of restraint. And even though no input was sought. ~. from community associations on the Fearnley proposal, here’s some anyway: Yes. A cut, token though it may be, sends - = out the message to all the peasants that their political masters are willing to make some sacrifices, that there is more than hot air being generated in council. cham- bers. That there is stil! room for some — pleasant surprises, nue jst unpleasant predictability, in the political arena. tredoaeree |