Raeliens vs. other aliens

Please write about things you know. About the reference to Raelians in your article "Aliens or fireballs?" [Cover, Sept. 1], I would like to raise these points:

• What exactly is a "sex religion"? Is it one where priests encounter altar boys?

• What exactly is an "aliens religion"? Is it one where its annual encounters feature language courses in Klingon?

• And then, what is a "pseudo-religion"? Is it one claiming a billion followers but closing down its weekly encounters for lack of attendance?

I'm sorry to say that the Raelians are none of the above. Those genuinely interested in knowing what they write about, can check out the Raelians at www.rael.org, and furthermore, it's free.

» Wolfgang Blach,
Engineer, PhD

Facing The Front

Your news items in the Front of Aug. 25 cited many demands for social action and justice.

"Elephants and you" served to expose the abhorrent treatment of circus elephants and should have extended the exposure to their treatment in zoos. Captive animals provide entrepreneurs with the "bottom line": money. They "inform" us that captive animals receive all the amenities of veterinarian care, diet and freedom from predators. Besides, they say, it's all for the "education of our children."

But conditions in the wild, including those of predators, are a natural existence. Yes, sometimes it's stressful. Our lives are often stressful too. But we wouldn't trade these stresses for a life in prison, where care is assured! Children are not educated by viewing animals in captivity. Instead, their perspective is warped, and they should be home viewing Animal Kingdom on TV.

"Cat saving tips" reveals the life of a pet when we attempt to fashion the animal to our own image. A pet dog uses its nose for his "newspaper," whereas a cat's needs are perhaps more subtle. One of these subtleties is the cat's use of its front claws, without of which he becomes docile, imprisoned and frequently self-destructive. A de-clawed cat has suffered an amputation and so it is not the same animal.

I once experienced an occasion where I questioned my neighbour about her cats. She stated that her cat was de-clawed, with her veterinarian's permission. "Yes," I replied, "but you should have asked the cat." We haven't spoken since.

Meanwhile, your photo of the week, featuring that perennial gadfly Jaggi Singh with his display of a poster of Israel's security fence/apartheid wall, offers a different perspective of this injustice. We are experiencing a world-wide nuclear apartheid, which effectively proclaims that we're the good guys, and they're the bad. President Bush made frequent warnings of the "axis of evil"; to wit, Iraq, Iran and North Korea, who, at some stage, have embarked on nuclear research.

But with Singh's portrayal, perhaps that axis of evil should be realigned to include the world's primary occupiers - the U.S., the U.K. and Israel. Nuclear armament proliferation is not amenable through reckless labelling and should be reckoned with by the understanding of vast differences in culture, language and needs.

» Edward Abramic

Non-conflict and resolution

Howdy! While I greatly appreciate the job the Mirror and Jonathan Cummins do with regards to promoting music in Montreal, especially the non-corporate type. I gotta point out to you guys that having Mr. Cummins write an article about an event in which he is taking part ["Fool school," Sept. 9] is pretty much the same darn thing as allowing me to write a review in your pages of an exhibition that happens here at Zeke's Gallery. If you guys do not have a clear conflict of interest policy in place, I urge you to draft one immediately.

» Chris Hand, Zeke's Gallery

Howdy! I have just been informed that I am in fact wrong, and Jonathan Cummins is not participating in the CSU orientation party. So I would like to apologize, say my mea culpa and promise that in the future I will not be so quick on the trigger about the integrity of the Mirror. Sorry for the waste of bandwidth.

» Chris Hand, Zeke's Gallery

Bikes, trains and automobiles

I applaud the city for the "in town without my car" event ["Carless in Montreal," The Front, Sept. 8], but it is but a one-day gesture. It isn't info booths set up for a few hours that are going to lure people into alternative means of transportation. What the city should do is make the alternatives more appealing than the jammed busses that crawl the streets at rush hour and too-scarce bicycle lanes. And whatever happened to the talk of light rail on Parc?

» Jason Schneider

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