4.» Wednesday, August 21, 1985 -.North Shore News

uiclear terrorism
a matter of time

ALTHOUGH IT is, in the
strictest sense, a coincidence,
1 find a more than casual
connection between a recent
case of 747s being used for
target practise and the fact
that the Soviets and
Americans are talking about
using the hot line in the
event of an act of nuclear
terrorism.

The terrible part about
both events is the feeling
that (a) we haven't seen the
last of terrorist attacks on
airlines and (b) sooner or
later we will, indeed, see our
first act of nuclear terrorism.
Presumably, a city will be
the target.

In its own twisted way,
such a horror. story seems
almost as inevitable as the
tanding on the moon.

You can’ see the logic,
from a terrorist’s point of
view. It is one thing to grab
a hostage or two. How much
more of a power trip to grab
several hundred hostages, or
at least blow that many peo-
ple away with a single cheap
well-placed bomb? It’s hard-
ly labor-intensive.

Next step: Go for a whole
city! Hold millions of people
hostage at once! Blow them
all up at a flick of a finger.

. What fun! What negotiating
power! — :

Better than war, by far.
The risk of ‘retaliation is

- close to zero because of the
fragmented political nature
of the world. There is always

some place you can hide. If

you work secretly for a state,
the risk of your country be-

ing crushed and occupied is ©

absolute zip.

Citizens
fight WV

“Proposed By-law 3233,
even if ‘valid, would not

relieve the municipality of its “~

obligation to compensate the
owners for taking and use of
their. property,’’ Hamilton
said. :

Adding to the pressure on
council was a telex from the
Minister of Fisheries and
Oceans, John Fraser, who
informed council he was
concerned and suggested no
further action until the matter
was discussed with Depart-
ment of Fisheries.”’

And while the legal
arguments were convincing, so
was the engineer, who argued
that a larger and more effec-

tive catch basin could be built -

in the box canyon, unseen by
the residents.

Nigel Skermer of Con-
solidated Geotechnical Ser-
vices, told council that the
proposed works would not
stop a major debris flow. ‘It
might result from the
statistical 100 year flood.

Quite possibly floods on
Cypress Creek have been no
more than 10-20 year events,”’
Skermer said.

stri

Anybody who shrugs off
or laughs away the threat of
nuclear terrorism is asleep at
the switch. The truly amaz-
ing thing, if you ask.me, is
that it hasn’t been tried yet.

I researched this one back
in the mid-70s, quite
thoroughly. Not only was it
possible for me personally to
get into contact with the
necesary technicians ahd
scientists right here in Van-
couver to build a small nu-
clear device, but. the pluto-
nium, the key ingredient, it
turned out, could be obtain-
ed through underground
sources in the U.S. I was, in
fact, offered an ounce of

ctly per

point being that governm-
ents better get their act
together real quick or some
REAL loonies are going to
be waving a nuke in your
face.

In the end, I decided not
to go through with the deal.
No pun intended, it was just
too hot. As it was, the
Mounties grilled me, and to
this day, refuse to release my
file, despite the Freedom of
Information Act or the
Trudeau Charter, on the
grounds that I’m a national
security risk. Gee, | was just
trying to make perfectly
valid point, fellas.

In case anybody thinks

v7

sonal

by Bob Hunter

pure contraband plutonium
through an unnamed third
source.

The idea was to take the
plutonium to Habitat
Forum, the United Nations
gathering about the en-
vironment that took place
out at Jericho Park in 1976,
and hand it over to the
authorities in a highly-
publicized way, along with a
workable nuclear device, the

- government

there aren't lunatics out
there who would scarcely
think twice about detonating
a crude little atomic bomb in
the middle of, say, Van-
couver, unless the Canadian
did such-and-
such, you get points for
apathy, but not for brains.
Look!

The extremes of terrorism
have been - newly-defined.
Scale is what counts. Air In-

dia. Korean Air Lines. And,
almost, CP Air.

There is something par-
ticularly perverse about at-
‘tacking a 747, Never, in all
of evolution, has there been
such a huge, helpless flying
thing, a sitting duck if there
ever was one. Indeed, it is
like shooting whales in a
barrel. Following the logic
of terror, there can only be
one even more deliciously
helpless giant to attack, and
that’s a city.

Such a scenario is definite-
ly in the cards sooner or
later, although Vancouver is
of course a highly unlikely
target. What, nuke a no-
nuke zone? You'd have to be
pretty far to the Right.

If Mr. Reagan was pun-'

ching walls over a planeload
of hostages in Beirut, what’s
he or his successor going to
do when’ Chicago has a
‘*primitive,’’ say,
Hiroshima-sized, briefcase
nuke planted in a bus depot
somewhere? ,

There are no short-term
solutions, since the smashed
atom is long since out of the
bag. But there IS a long-
term solution, even if it is
too radical to be considered
by ‘‘serious’’ men: The
elimination of everything
nuclear from the face of the
Earth, the hammering of the
reactors into solar batteries,
and, in a Canadian context,
saying to Candu: Can’t do!

The interesting times
aren't over yet, folks.

, NEWS photo ‘an Smith
ON A CLEAR day you can see forever, but only if you live in Ged’s country, the lower

mainland of beautiful British Columbia. Coal Harbour, the West End, Point Grey and
beyond are just part of breathtaking vista available by air.

North

- testing and sampling while frantically clutching the slipping

im — heads to the Tropical Gold Mine in Southem

| old legendary showman has been deluged with get-well f

N.
| that they'd performed from the stage of Ivan's Orpheum

fa little soft-shoe shuffle The pair practically did an encore §
_ of the entire show brightening the evening for everyone —

S- Jewellers, at the birthday boy's home in Cypress

| -aftemoon was the appearance of a low-flying airplane trailing

} my super sources, will take place Saturday when Lesley
¥ Elizabeth only daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Clement E.
& Williams of West Van, weds Michael Peter, only son §

B handled by the highly-imaginative and indefatigable Willie

# Edmontonion, Doug Orbeck, who has just put down

“s

Shore People

Last year ai the Fourth Annual Canadian Chili
Championship held in the Westin Bayshore parking
lot, one of the female judges found she had a wee bit of
a problem — and it wasn't with the chili, All the judges are
required to carry with them, as they move around the testing
table sampling the 50 chilis, a number of items including
their judge's ballots and forms, a pencil or pen, their personal -
spoon and a tall, cooling drink to sip between buming

bitefuls, As she leaned forward to reach for a crisp piece
of celery, the unthinkable happened, The wam elastic on
her panties snapped. Imagine her dilemma -- on stage in
front of a huge crowd of anxious participants and onlookers I
and nowhere to fix it. She spent the rest of her judgeship §

undies with her elbows digging into her sides. As the contest:

, firally ended, she dashed off, cheerfully explaining, “That's

the trouble with having a lapse in your love life. One tends
to neglect one’s linguzie!” .. . The Gold Medal winner in I 4
this Saturdays Molgonf/CKWX/Westin Bayshore event a
— and there are numerous entries from the North Shore B

California October 27 for the 19th World Chili mf
Championship Cookoff (first prize is $35,000) where fl
judges like William Conrad, Peter Marshall and
Rory. Calhoun await the various concoctions — with EB
superior elastic in their jockey shorts, one hopes... :
zk * ,
Mr. Show Biz, Ivan Ackery, is having a wonderful time
during his sojoum at Lions Gate Hospital. The 85-year-

notes and telegrams since he-arrived but the happiest
surprise occurred Friday when the husband-and-wife team
of Thora Anders and Barney Potts dropped by — and
they hate crossing the Lions Gate Bridge! Thora waltzed
{nto Ivan's room, unannounced, and broke into the f
.A.BOB. from the old Harmony House Show

Theatre, with Bamey following on Thora’s heels doing a ff

especially Ivan...

kk i.
My spies tell me that the birthday party of the year had J
to be the gala affair organized last Saturday by the family
of Mel ‘Batts’ Battensby, head man for Harling’s @

Estates. In for the special event, the Hugh Pickett of
Seatile, Len Greenhalgh emceed the roast/party while §
the award-winning Simon Fraser Pipe. Band §
entertained the 200-odd quests, some of whom flew in from
Europe, Israel and New York. Highlight’ of the

the greeting Batts Have a D-Flawless 50th! Happy
Birthday! . .. Thoroughly enjoying herself was
Batts’ mother-in-law, Vi Branca, the gracious and I
dignified wife of the late Chief Justice, Angelo Branca.
Mrs. Branca, who made one of her rare public appearances
at the Mitzi Gaynor Show at the Playhouse and
visited the bouncy blonde backstage, recently received a i #
personal note and beautifully autographed picture of the J
star... The affair was reminiscent of the yearly birthday & &
parties that the late socially prominent Helen Graham
used to throw for husband Ronald at their pink palace
near UBC. Only difference was that Helen didn't have a
Provincial Court Judge dishing up the chow. Batts’
sister-in-law, Judge Delores Holmes did the honours
with the same grace and style she exhibits on the bench ...
kk
On the other hand, the wedding of the year, according to

of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bentley, at Christ Church ff
Cathedral. The reception will follow at the Vancouver

Art Gallery, the first time ever that the gallery has been J
used for a wedding reception, with the catering being ff

Brueckel of the Ambleside Inn... And finally, watch
for the 57th Boston Pizza shop in Canada to open early
next week at 1078 Marine Drive in North Van, the first on
the North Shore. Heading the new franchise is former

roots in North Van... Cheers!...

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