Pirates won’t save
Canadian politics

[Re: “The Pirate Party of Canada,” Angel, April 29] Great! Just what Canada needs, another completely useless party to make Canadian politics even more irrelevant.

I admire their stance, but these people can’t change anything. Harper keeps pushing the country in more and more right-wing directions and no amount of Marijuana or Pirate parties are going to change his mandate—in fact, it’ll probably make things worse (“Look at those left-wing liberal assholes!”)

Maybe, one of these days, these fringe parties will get it together and start a party that can actually do something, but until then, please stop adding fuel to the growing conservative fire, it only further discredits the real progressive groups out there.

>>Tom Baker

Raf and the
Marcos family

[Re: “The creepy Marcos family,” Letters, April 29] I consider myself a specialist on the Philippines, even though this has yet to help me get a date with Raf Katigbak.

I know from Lapu Lapu to Jose Rizal to the Spanish American war. I spend at least a month every year in the Philippines.

Missing from Timothy Shaver’s letter was that the Marcos dictatorship was brought down by the People Power Movement, inspired by none other than cardinal sin. The country is 90 per cent Catholic and the church motivated the revolt against the dictatorship.

Oddly, the poor were better off under Marcos. Rice was subsidized under his rule so the poor could eat. I send $120 USD a month to Pasay City, or the slum Barangay of Concepcion. I now subsidize their rice.

Imelda Marcos (still on the political scene in the Philippines) and her husband were terrible for the Philippines. However, when the vast majority are “dead” hungry, a little rice buys a lot of votes.

Can you please ask Raf if he will accept an invitation to a special Filipino dinner? We could even eat kamayan (with our hands). My lumpia brings all the boys to the yard. Raf, come for chicken adobo dood.

Kitatiu sasasunod.

>>Edward

Tinpot USA

[Re: “Cops in camo,” Damn Right, April 29] After reading last week’s Damn Right about two Illinois state representatives who want the governor to call in the National Guard to deal with street crime, it struck me just how fragile a real democracy can be. An army should never, ever, ever be policing its own cities—just look at how that worked in Chile or Greece or any other tinpot dictatorship.

As an American living in Montreal, this small news item revealed a bigger truth: my country is in real danger. Just as dangerous as the Times Square would-be bomber are elected officials with inflated egos who play the politics of fear. I’m glad there are still enough smart people in the United States who can see through this kind of cheap grandstanding and care about the law enough to dismiss it.

>>David Morbray

Down with posters

[Re: “Going posters,” News, April 29] The music community in Montreal is so self-referential. Just about half of the people quoted in the story are either in a band, designing posters for the band, sticking those posters on every telephone poll in the Mile End or doing all three! All of which makes Montreal look all the more disgusting when the spring reveals layer upon layer of discoloured, disintegrating “art.”

By the way, postering isn’t a job! It’s a hobby! It’s the adult equivalent of having a paper route. Maybe, if these people had real jobs, they’d stop worrying so much about promoting their band and realize there are bigger problems in the world than getting more than just your Facebook “friends” to come to your show.

>>Matt Saunders

More votes
for Best Dep

[Re: “Support your local dep!” Letters, April 29] Love the idea of Best Dep. My vote would go to the dep run by the super-nice Chinese couple on St-Viateur and Waverly. I haven’t been there in a while—I moved out of Mile End last year—so I don’t even know if they’re still around, but I remember they’d always give me change whenever I had to do my laundry at Johnny’s place next door. And hey, why don’t you add Best Laundromat next year too?

If I had to vote for a Worst Dep, I’d pick any Provi-Soir. They charge like $11 for a pack of cigarettes and the coffee is god-awful.

Love the Best of Montreal issue, it’s my favourite of the year!

>> Sarah Beals

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