Letters play an
important role

[Re: “Give peace work a chance,” Letters, Jan. 31] I would like to respond to Ms. Shira Avni as someone who, though not brought up in Israel, lived in Israel for seven years, and once considered it home.

I applaud Ms. Avni for stating that “thoughtful criticism of Israeli policies does not constitute anti-Semitism...” This can’t be repeated enough. I also agree with Ms. Avni’s bringing attention to the “huge numbers of Israelis and Palestinians who are opposed to the endless bloodshed and [who] are actively seeking a real peace,” and with her lament that, “we don’t hear enough about them in the media.” If we did, it might help break the monolithic stereotypes of each other, which would contribute greatly to peace. Where I disagree with her is that the dialogue taking place in the letters section of the Mirror just fuels the fire.

Unfortunately, the mainstream media is biased towards the Israeli policies, and therefore the letters are a means to introduce to readers facts about the Palestinian side of the struggle that mostly go unreported.

Furthermore, most readers are unaware of, or lose sight of, the roots of this conflict, namely, that the state of Israel was created by the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. The conflict must be viewed in light of its origins.

In sum, the letters that support the struggle of the Palestinian people have an important role to play in filling in the missing gaps in the information available to the wider public, and it is only when Canadians have a more complete picture of the situation, and are well-informed, that hopefully we will be motivated to put pressure on our government to ensure that our leaders put pressure on Israel to act in accordance with human rights and international humanitarian laws.

>> Mira Khazzam

Rah rah Albertan
nonsense

[Re: “Five years later, four reasons to like Alberta,” Letters, Jan. 31]

Alberta has the second largest deposit of oil after the Middle East, Ralph Klein would chirp happily. While he thought that was just grand, those without petrochemical-induced brain damage in this country realized that was terrible news!

While the rest of the country benefits from Alberta’s resource sector financially, the ecological toll of Alberta’s tar sands industry has quickly become the largest human caused ecological disaster in our country, and maybe the world.

Leaving behind vast strip mines and toxic tailings ponds visible from space that poison the air and ground waters of Alberta residents and beyond, the oil industry plans to excavate and devastate an area as vast as the British Isles.

Greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands production are three times those of conventional oil and gas production (currently 27 megatonnes per annum and is expected to rise to 108–126 megatonnes by 2015). Thus, the tar sands are poised to become Canada’s largest single emitter of greenhouse gas.

By comparison, the entire city of Montreal emitted around 25 million tonnes and Calgary emitted around 14 megatonnes of greenhouse gasses last year. The entire country emitted about 700 megatonnes.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands match that of the Czech Republic, are twice that of Peru’s output, three times that of Qatar and 10 times that of Costa Rica. The United Nations has just announced global warming could cost the world up to $20-trillion over two decades.

So thanks, but no thanks to all that rah rah Alberta nonsense. Alberta money is worthless at this cost.

>> Adam Enright, GD Lasqueti Island, B.C.

City smacked with fine

I am officially fining the city of Montreal $180. Last night at 6:30 p.m., after a hard day’s work, I came home and shovelled my car out. That took me a half hour. Then I drove around looking for parking and that took me 20 minutes. Then I walked home and that took 15 minutes. Then I dried my pants and blew my nose for an hour.

All this hassle and the snow removal did not happen last night where and when they said it would. So, city of Montreal, I am fining you $180 for making me waste my time. And the next time the city hires the person that plans ploughing the streets, can we hire somebody that passed Grade 8? Because this guy or girl is really starting to piss me off. Try, just try, doing your job right for once.

When I have an employee who can’t do their job right five times in a row, they are usually fired. City workers, when they can’t do their job right, say it’s because it’s too hard and then ask for a raise...WTF!? Go back to high school and get organized and stop wasting my money and my time.

(P.S.) All you tow-truck scavenger lowlifes who ruin our cars and take our grocery money—you can rot as well!

>> Joel Alexander

WE WELCOME LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!