6 - Friday, February 15, 1991 - North Shore News %, SQUHHOINgY NEWS VIEWPOINT INSIGHTS Sex education PPOSITION to condom dispensers being instalied in North Shore schools appears to be based on the belief that the machines will increase student promiscuity. Those opposed also argue that installing condom machines in high schools will send a message to students that schools condone 5eXx. According to both arguments, the mod- evn secondary school student must surely be both obsessed with sex and a trifle dim. It takes more than available condoms to increase promiscuity, as anyone who has ascended the various social strata of high school will know. And the real message that students should pick up from the installation of condom machines in high schools is that sex should not be taken lightly, that engaging in sex can be dangerous to your health. Oppenents to condom machines preach abstinence. Sound advice, indeed. There is no more effective method of birth control than abstinence and no more effective method of avoiding sexually-transmitted diseases than abstinence. But the reality is that secondary school Students are going to experiment sexually, no matter how often the message of abstinence is delivered to them. Far better then for those who engage in sex to have basic information about sex and basic information of how to minimize the serious consequences of sex. Condoms are not a solution in themselves. But their use in conjunction with a good basic knowledge of human sexuality will help reduce the secial costs of indulging in sex irresponsibly. Abstinence, by all means, but it is dif- ficult to abstain from being human. LETTER OF THE DAY Parkgate decision justified Dear Editor: The president of the East from the first instalment payment for the land to the District. First, my appreciation to the speaking about sheer procrastina- tion and unjustifiable holdups at every stage by some members of the old district council. Seymour Community Association has been critical of North Van- couver District Council’s decision to give the developers of Parkgate Centre and Parkgate Manor an additional 30 days to finalize the legal details of the master agree- ment for the Parkgate commercial development in Seymour. He praised the three rookie aldermen for voting against this “charity’’ extended to the devel- opers by the majority of Council, costing the taxpayers the oppor- tunity to earn $28,000 in interest Advertising Director Comptrotier...... ......Peter Speck Managing Editor . .. Timothy Renshaw Associate Editor... ... Noel Wright Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax ... Linda Stewart Newsroom Doug Foot North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph III of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid and distributed to every door on the Norih Snore. Second Class Maul Re istration Number 8s. ubscriptions North and West Vancouver, per year. Mailing sates available on request. Neon ponsdale Avenue. Submussions are welcome but we cannot accept ancouver, B.C. responsibility for unsolicited material including V7M 2H4 manuscrip!s and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped. addressed envelope President and his organization for keeping a close eye on council. Second, although all the background material on this com- plex’ issue was available to the rookie aldermen, they could not be expected in the span of two weeks to go through material go- ing back for years. Third, the real question in this issue is: why was this project held up for so long in the first place? Iam not speaking about delays caused by revisions to the plan as a result of public input. I am Display Advertising Ye YOncE DF NONTT AND WEST MAMCOUVER north shore: SUNDAY - WEDNESDAY - FRIDAY 980-6511 Distribution Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Subscriptions 985-2131 Administration 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday. Friday & Sunday} Entire contents © 1991 North Shore Free Press Lid. All rights reserved. In light of the history of this project and in light of yet another last minute decision by the last council to change the plan, our senior staff suggested that the re- quest of the developer for a 30- day extension to finalize the legal details was fully justified. I agreed with that judgment and voted accordingly. Ernie Crist Alderman District of North Vancouver 986-1337 Gay 986-1337 Te 985-3227 Bi 985-2131 North Shore managed SDA DIVISION The new war IN THE Gulf War the TV reporters and cameramen are no longer merely recording the action. They have become a key PART of the action, doing much to define the whole course of the conflict. General Schwarzkopf and Sad- dam Hussein control the tanks and bombers. But the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of spectators are controlled — every hour — by Cable News Network. And CNN’s global audience ultimately controls the world’s leaders. Seeing is believing, right? The impact of TV as a powerful new addition to the arsenals of both sides comes from being a double-edged weapon. It brings into the living-room all the reasoning, upbeat — and cen- sored — images that each combat- tant wants its own people and the world to believe in. Awesome military hardware. Cheerful, confident service per- sonnel of both sexes readying for action. Patriot anti-missile in- terceptions. The pinpoint bomb- aimer, with smoke billowing from a direct hit on the ground far below. Massive anti-aircraft fire streaming up into the night sky. SCUD launchers. Huge Baghdad and Amman demonstrations shrieking ‘‘Death to Bush.’’ A smiling, relaxed Saddam conferr- ing with his generals and chatting with his troops. The reverse pictures too — equally censored for maximum ef- fect. Buildings reduced to rubble. Burned vehicles. Dead civilians. Bloodied children. Dying oil- soaked birds. The naked horrors of modern warfare in living color. The home audiences t2ke from it all what each of them seeks — the peaceniks concentrating on the horrors (as Saddam intends), the patriotic on the upbeat. Then, TV cameras focus on the audiences themselves and beam THEIR im- ages back to the world at large, including Saddam. Monster peace rallies. Worried service famities. Confused school kids. America’s new breed of stu- dents waving the Stars and Stripes. Optimistic ‘‘analysts.”’ Questioning Congressmen. A determined but cautious George Bush at his mandatory podium. This is the first war in history where it all hangs out, every hour, in the accompanying electronic battle for hearts and minds. See- ing is believing. The influence of the TV war on the decision-makers is beyond doubt. Its chanting peacenik crowds and the ‘‘body-bags’” spectre are a key factor in U.S. timing of the allied ground assault. Iraq's shattered cities and civilian death toll are raising ques- KING HUSSEIN of Jordan ...TV woos Arabs for Saddam. Noel Wright HITHER AND YON tions about exceeding the United Nations mandate. TV has aided Saddam in woo- ing neutral Arab support. Its vi- sual proof of the overwhelming allied air onslaught must certainly have helped restrain Israel. The tube is changing the traditional politics of war every day. It’s still too early for a final appraisal of TV warfare. One thing at least can be said, howev- er, for this new and inescapable weapon which hits millions of targets hourly with pinpoint accu- racy. It doesn’t kill or maim you. But it sure forces you to THINK, ee6 WRAP-UP: Cap College Com- munity Orchestra benefits from the Festival Trio Canada concert 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, in St. Andrews Church, North Van — with violinist Arthur Polson, cellist Ian Hampton and pianist Melinda Coffey ... Valentines can coo and sway with the Truetones tonight, Feb. 15, at the Silver Harbour Queen of Hearts Ball, 144 East 2nd — call 980-2474 re tickets ... And in the Believe-It- Or-Not Dept. meet the Calgary judge who dared to tell a man convicted of wrecking a car and striking a police officer during a suicide attempt that he suffered from ‘criminal self-pity.”’ For that comment His Honor is now facing a lawsuit launched against him by the Canadian Mental Health Association! WRIGHT OR WRONG: Wisdom is sometimes as simple as knowing what to overlook. bd MELINDA COFFEY ...Trio woos funds for Cap College.