Israel noise

I guess it had just been too long since Scott Saxon made Damn Right look damn ridiculous by finding some kind of action on the part of Israel to complain about. Last week, he informed us that the nasty Israeli Air Force are annoying the nice Gazans by flying over their territory at supersonic speeds causing sonic booms which wake up the population from their beauty naps [“Boom in the night,” Nov. 10].

In spite of its name, a sonic boom sounds like the loud crack of a gun, something that is part of the daily routine in Gaza. It is also wide-ranging and will be disturbing the population in nearby Israeli towns too.

But lets join Saxon in implying this is not nice and should be stopped. However, is this more worthy of his attention than the fact that Israel voluntarily withdrew from there? Or that the locals trashed abandoned synagogue buildings that could have been put to some use? Or that they looted productive greenhouses left for their benefit, no doubt calling for international aid all the while? How about the PLO steadfastly refusing to do the main thing required of them by the roadmap, stopping terrorists operating from their territory?

Maybe we could also have a story about the call for the destruction of Israel by the president of Iran while his country pursues nuclear weapons and nobody commits to stopping them. How about a story on the French intifada taking place in the slums around Paris? Another topic might be the fact that Jordanians have risen up and stated that they refuse to be killed by murderers who profane the name of God and Islam by their actions just because the murderers happen to be fellow Arabs and Muslims.

Never mind, I’m sure this can all be solved by the usual U.N. resolution condemning Israel for some horrible crime like robbing Gazans of their sleep.

» Ken Frankel

Montreal shallow and provincial!

Funny article Raf Katigbak had about Berlin [“Les Filles du roi vs. homely hausfrauen,” Disko Akimbo, Nov. 3]. I’ve stayed in Montreal and Berlin and was missing both of them up until the moment when I read his article. No matter how much Katigbak wanted to bitch about Berlin, his article only reminded me why I left Quebec, Canada, North America.

When can you people grow some real culture and internationalism? When can you people just one day do some more travelling and understand how shallow your culture is? I guess I could never live in Quebec again because of how provincial it is and never in Montreal again because of how much it is pretending to be a world city, when it’s actually a small village. (And I don’t even want to mention how miserable the food culture is, how tear-burstingly sad Quebecois language is, how ass-freezing cold the winters are and how tragically little people understand about the world’s geography.)

I love Montreal and I had a good time while I was there. I met tons of good people, I saw so many hot girls, I went to so many cool parties, but now I remember why I left. Thanks for reminding me.

Keep rockin’ in your small ass island!

» Jose Qian, Shanghai, China

Ecotourism pollution

The well-written article “Darwin’s polluted playground” [Nov. 10] mentions that the imported beasts the settlers introduced to the Galapagos islands wreaked havoc on its ecosystem.

What should also be mentioned is that ecotourism and other forms of tourism too often do not help the indigenous peoples of remote islands. Though tourism booms in Hawaii, for example, aboriginal Hawaiians rank among the poorest and sickest inhabitants on the island. It is estimated that in most inclusive package tours, about 80 per cent of the travellers’ expenditures go to airlines, hotels and corporate franchises. Who is really benefiting?

While the prospect of ecotourism dollars makes governments want to protect wildlife habitats, the pollution and congestion that hordes of tourists bring often negate the benefits of ecotourism. In the Caribbean, sewage disposal has led to the degradation of many coastal areas and has accelerated the damage of coastal reefs.

Ecotourism, to be truly beneficial in the long run, has to be both ecologically and socially sustainable.

» Manish Patwari

Academic right-wing conspiracy?

This is something that should be brought to the attention of the press here and I’m genuinely surprised that no one has ever noticed it.

For a left-leaning and progressive city like Montreal, the English higher institutions of learning here—especially McGill—are hotbeds of conservative activity and views. In fact, most of the academics in the Faculty of Arts and in particular the departments of history, economics and political science are predominantly American, conservative and to the right. Some of them also seem to have a higher-than-normal interest in Canadian security issues, when in fact they are American citizens.

I would challenge the Mirror and other publications to look into this. Why are non-Canadian academics studying our security issues and at the same time espousing their American and right-wing views in a country not their own and at our universities?

It’s time for Montrealers to take back their schools and universities.

Where’s CSIS when you need them?

» Jane Doe

WE WELCOME LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!

Send your comments, compliments or criticisms to:

Letters to the Editor,
c/o Montreal Mirror,
465 McGill, 3rd Floor
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 4B4

You may also fax us at (514) 393-3173, or reach us by e-mail:

Letters to the Editor

All letters should include your name, address and daytime phone number.

If you wish to reach someone in particular, here's a list of people involved with the production of the newspaper and this site.