Kidney sales make bad philosophy

Philosopher Janet Radcliffe-Richards, the ardent defender of kidney capitalism ["Their pound of flesh", News, July 23], provides a perfect example of the kind of philosophy Aristotle hated: sophistry. She is sophisticated, clever and wrong.

For example, she says that selling a kidney or an eyeball is the same for people starving in Africa as it is "for a rich person who might want to sell his kidney so he doesn't have to work." In the case of the former, their second kidney is a luxury they can't afford--they trade their kidney for survival. In the case of the latter, some rich person sells their kidney in order to live an increasingly idle life--they trade their kidney for luxury.

When Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind," he meant it as a figure of speech. Radcliffe-Richards would actually make Gandhi's worst nightmare a flesh-and-blood reality.

--Gord Lundrigan

Sutherland suffers from innate inability

I read with interest Alastair Sutherland's explanation of the Japanese pronunciation of 'kogal' as 'kogaru' as being due to "the innate inability [of Japanese girls] to pronounce the letter 'L'" ["Giant Robot causes yellow fever," Media Circus, July 16]. Note that this explanation can be extended to other known phenomena. We can account for the French pronunciation of words such as "hello," "hockey" and "hotel" as being due to their innate inability to pronounce the letter "H." The difficulty anglophones face with any French word involving an "R" can be explained biologically also.

Furthermore, given that innate inabilities are usually characteristic of a species (e.g. our innate inability to grow wings explains why we can't fly), we now have proof that the English and the French really are fundamentally different.

--Jila Ghomeshi

Req is music's cutting edge

This letter is with regards to Mireille Silcott's review of Skint experimental hip hop artist Req's second album, Frequency Jams [Compact Discs, July 23].

I understand that, as a reviewer, you must sometimes go off on something really crappy to warn people about the crap being released out there. But Silcott sinks to a level where she only ridicules herself, saying that a label such as Skint must not release music different from their usual fare. This proves only one thing: she is closed-minded, stuck in the past, unable to look ahead unable to accept new sounds.

If record labels were to keep putting out the same music over and over again without trying to break barriers or explore different avenues, Warp would not have released Nightmares on Wax or Jimi Tenor because they're not bubbly techno; Ninja Tune would not have released Amon Tobin's material because it's not trip hop; and City Slang would not have released Derrick Carter's remix of Tortoise because you cannot blend rock and electronic music. I could go on.

Next time, instead of reviewing a musically challenging album such as Req's, maybe Silcott should review the latest Teletubbies or the new Backstreet Boys, which I'm sure she has the capacity to understand.

--Fred Warren

Government wrong about Benny Farm

A recently issued government letter is once again promoting the demolition of the Benny Farm veterans' housing complex in NDG in order to build 140 condos--in addition to the 90 just built.

That many residents wish to stay in their 1947 homes can't be disputed. We have 40 signed forms asking us to fight for their rights. Others have asked verbally for our support.

Elsewhere, many veterans happily occupy a score of inferior buildings at Vetville in Chateauguay, while 150 families occupy Les Terrasses Villeray--buildings identical to those at Benny Farm. Millions of people everywhere live in walk-ups. Few want elevator-served warehousing with other old people when they can stay in their current homes.

Offers to purchase Benny Farm and conserve the homes as social housing have been public for years. Nobody disputes their businesslike nature or the profit they would bring to taxpayers. Many qualified building and real estate professionals, as well as the Minister of Municipal Affairs, agree with us.

Federal Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano and MP Marlene Jennings of NDG blandly dismiss specific accusations of waste in their destructive plans. Yet they give no evidence that the community will profit from their plans. Meanwhile, public money, in the tens of millions, is being merrily pissed away.

--Michael Fish
Coalition to Save Benny Farm