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I read Gladys Phare’s letter last week, and the story of her brother’s meeting on a troop ship deeply affected me. In World War II, both my grandfather, Brian Buzzard, and his younger brother Peter fought in the deserts of the Middle East.

I read Gladys Phare’s letter last week, and the story of her brother’s meeting on a troop ship deeply affected me.

In World War II, both my grandfather, Brian Buzzard, and his younger brother Peter fought in the deserts of the Middle East. The battle of El Alamein was to decide who controlled the Middle East oil supply, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Suez Canal.

My grandmother Dulcie, my father, who was only around 2, and my great grand parents saw them off at the train station together. None of them ever saw Brian and Peter again, both were killed during the battle. Brian is buried in Egypt, Peter in Libya. As far as I know, nobody from my family has ever been to visit those graves.

About a year ago, a cousin of mine who’s doing a family tree sent me the address of a Web site, the Common Wealth War Graves Commission (http://www.cwgc.org), and I was able to look up the location of my grandfather and great uncle’s graves. It shows their ranks, Bombardier and Gunner, their dates of death, January 23 rd 1942 and June 6 th 1942, a description of the cemeteries, and short history of the battle of El Alamein. Not much to show for two promising young men, with families and aspirations. Altogether, it was a very sad trip.

It’s impossible to say that World War II was frivolous exercise. If it hadn’t been for people like Brian and Peter Buzzard, and about God only knows how many million other guys who lost their lives, Europe would be a huge fascist state, and from there, who knows where it would have spread. We owe our culture and freedom to men like these.

What’s going on in the Middle East makes my heart break. It’s not a war to free a people, or stabilize a region, or even to secure a crucial source of world oil production. The fact is, this war will do the opposite of all three. The war in Iraq is on because some people very high in the American government thought it would be an easy victory; something the American public could feel good about. They felt that Saddam Hussein had slipped through their grasp during the first Gulf War, and that stuck in their craw.

Whatever the reasons, there are still hundreds of thousand of people out in the desert like Brian and Peter. I can only see it getting worse for them in the future.

Dave Buzzard

Whistler

 

I would like to respond to Gladys Phares's letter to the editor dated March 27th. I presently hold dual citizenship between both the United States and Canada, and am very proud of one and very disappointed in the other. I am very proud to be born a Canadian and equally impressed with their courageous stand against being dragged or coerced into this misguided debacle that President Bush has foolishly plunged the U.S. and Britain into, along with their coalition of cash strapped poor countries, who offer nothing more than an open hand and a bought vote. I will refrain from listing the countless reasons why I believe President Bush has chosen this course of action and will only say that none of his reasons are steeped in farsightedness or courage.

I would like to however address most of the incorrect assertions Gladys Phare has given on why she supports this president and this war.

The first and most consistent misnomer about antiwar demonstrations are that they are against the troops serving in Iraq and wish to extend the brutal treatment of the Iraqi people now being administered by one Saddam Hussein. I take offence that the people who applaud this war take these brave soldiers as their own and label antiwar activists as appeasers to a brutal regime. Nothing could be further from the truth. All demonstrators want nothing more than to have these troops home safe and sound with their families. As for the Iraqi people, human rights has always been on the minds of most of these antiwar activists, it is the new found religion on this subject that President Bush has suddenly experienced that brings skepticism to his policy. Where was the U.S. when the Kurds were being gassed in 1988 or when the city of Basra was rebelling following the Gulf War?

The next glaring inaccuracy and one that is bandied about with no historical truth or relevance is that Iraq and Hussein have any resemblance to Hitler and Germany in the late 1930s. Iraq has no intention or ability to conquer the world. Iraq has been contained for over 12 years quite successfully and yes weapons inspections have worked, and were working, and would have continued to work had it not been for this military action. I now have greater fear that biochemicals will fall into the wrong hands because of revenge than I did before, during ongoing inspections. Iraq's neighbours, unlike France, Belgium, England, Poland, the Netherlands, and Russia, all being directly threatened by Germany during WW II, have not asked for or are currently supporting this war.

In WW II there was also a clear end game in sight, whereas in Iraq none can be seen or has been articulated with any foundation in reality. Only more horrors await us within President Bush's shortsighted foray into the Middle East where religion plays a major part of the equation. Israel easily won a six-day war and has been in the aftermath for over 30 years. The crusades lasted for decades and claimed thousands of lives on both sides. Democracy existed in Europe before WW II, it does not exist in the Middle East. Even Kuwaiit does not have a democracy.

One of the other fallacies of Gladys Phare's assertions and beliefs and one that seems to be the crux of her opinion is that anti-war protestors are somehow naive, spoiled children who are ignorant of the hard realities of the real world. Not only is this opinion condescending but again very far from the truth. It is the fact that these protestors are very well educated, and most a lot more well travelled than President Bush, and well aware of how this world functions that is the very reason that propels them to protest. They are aware that 15 of the 19 hijackers who struck on 9/11 were not Iraqi but Saudi. They are aware consensus brings better results than money and bullying. They are aware that forged documents showing Iraq's nuclear capabilities are not what should be used to form a coalition. They are aware that 75 per cent of the talking heads on TV are either presently in the Bush administration or have been in the past. It is the courageous and freedom loving people of the antiwar movement that take the time, knowing full well they are bucking the norm and will not be listened to, and will often be ridiculed by people such as Gladys Phare as naive, ignorant, spoiled, and unworldly, that still go out and still make the effort. That in my mind is true patriotism.

We don't need to be told to go out and volunteer for community work we are currently doing what this community needs, we are fighting for freedom of speech and redress within a democratic society.

George Philp

Whistler

 

I fully agree with the letter from Gladys Phare, published March 28.

No one in the Game of War is innocent, fair or blameless but when freedom and safety are threatened someone has to stand up and be counted.

After Germany was liberated the world said, "Why did we wait so long? Why did we not do something to help the millions in the death camps."

This is what is happening in Iraq every day, untold cruelty. Dictators such as Saddam have to be stamped out. He alone could have prevented this war by stepping into exile.

God bless America, Britain and the rest of the brave allied forces.

Helga Ruiterman

Whistler

 

It’s pretty obvious to anyone reading The Pique ’s letters section in the last couple of issues that the war in the Middle East is on everybody’s minds. It’s equally clear that opinion is very divided, reflecting the lack of consensus nationally as well as abroad. And it’s odd that there doesn’t seem to be any demographic associated with either side of the debate: you can actually be young, liberal, and vigorously pro-America, just as you might be a retired, reactionary WWII veteran peace activist.

On whichever side you fall, you will probably support your position with references to quite general principles – we should help out the Americans because they’d help us; we shouldn’t interfere because the Iraqi people ought to decide their fate for themselves; we should free the Iraqi people from the tyranny of a violent and non-democratic regime, so they can share the liberty that we enjoy; we should fight because not to do so projects weakness, and appeasement has been shown historically not to work.

Wherever you stand, and however noble these sentiments might be, it’s not actually clear that they support our decision-making. Isn’t it actually true that we can believe all of the principles above together? Besides, any one of them only hints at a great array of issues underneath, again referring to general principles: ‘we should help out the Americans because they’d help us’ – they probably would, but you learn early on that you shouldn’t always automatically do what your friend does. ‘We should let the Iraqi people decide....’ – everyone agrees that this would be wonderful, but apparently they’re not in a position to do so. Should the international community go and help? ‘We shouldn’t follow a policy of appeasement, because it didn’t work against Hitler’ – perhaps the thorniest of all, because while it didn’t work against Hitler, when Germany started rearming it was only 15 years since the last world war, and you would have needed a very short memory to forget the loss of almost a whole generation of young men.

Whatever was right in that case, it’s of questionable value to compare it with the present conflict: the whole world order, along with the actions and motivations of both sides – every detail – is entirely different. There may be good reasons for being at war now, but the failure of a desperate policy of a 1930s British Prime Minister is not automatically one of them.

For as long as we work from principles towards facts, we will support whichever side we have already chosen. As evidence of this, think about any of the exchanges you have heard, or had with people about the war. Each person says his or her bit, then the other begins "But....." Despite often agreeing on what is ultimately desirable – peace in the Middle East? Democracy? – people continually argue at cross-purposes as if to exploit the scope for disagreement. For as long as this is the case, it’s not simply unlikely that anyone will be persuaded away from his or her chosen point of view; it is totally impossible.

Perhaps we cannot always derive our opinions about an issue from facts alone, and necessarily in our judgements we make references to history or to general moral principles. But it’s worthwhile trying to imagine how it might all look to someone with no allegiances, and no self-interest. In the case of this war there are so few facts available that it’s a challenge to believe anything at all, and maybe our beliefs about what ought to be done should reflect this: whether you choose to wave the Stars and Stripes or to smash up a McDonald’s, don’t imagine that you’re commentating meaningfully on the freedom and democracy of the United States, or Capitalist oppression and manufactured consent. As far as the other side is concerned, you will still just be a right-wing hick or an imbecilic hooligan.

Personally, I suppose I’m pro-America, anti-Saddam Hussein, pro-Human Rights and the Geneva Convention, anti-war and pro-UN. Who am I supposed to stand next to?

James Unwin

Whistler, B.C. & Kent, England

 

This letter is addressed to Mr. Gary Collins, Finance Minister.

Twenty years ago Whistler parents were faced with the problem of high school taxes in proportion to surrounding areas. We had a cap put on the home owners grant as most homes had a big jump in assessed values. One solution was to form our own school district and back away from the Howe Sound district, but of course we were not allowed to do this.

Today we have the same problems only on a larger scale as the municipality had allowed large homes on the Benchlands, Sunridge Plateau and the West Side Road.

We only have three schools, yet we subsidize the surrounding areas such as Squamish and Pemberton, D'Arcy, Mount Currie etc. who have many schools. It has been recognized that we are paying 90-93 per cent of the district school taxes.

Squamish also has a community college and a new university is to be built there mainly because land values in Whistler are too artificially high to support giving free land for universities.

We don’t even have a proper community centre where kids can come in and not have to pay to get in the door. Our library in the portable with the squeaky floors is a disgrace.

Most locals can't afford to play on the golf courses, $200 for a round, or pay the $1,200 price for a ski pass.

It is quite ironic that when I bought my first home in Whistler in 1975 I could not get a mortgage as the risk was too great for recreational property. I was forced to sell my pickup truck to make a demand loan (one-third down) and then get caught later with 19 per cent interest rates.

Great; my house has increased many fold but so have my taxes.

Oh well pretty soon I can look forward to paying to use the parks and paying a toll on the highway.

R. McKean

Whistler

 

As of this week I have not had any reply from the provincial government concerning the two letters written to them over a month ago about Whistler’s inequitable school tax situation. I do know that our municipal representatives have been talking to the Treasury Department and the Minister of Finance. Our municipal reps have been told that the treasury department is formulating some response to the Whistler school tax problem. The provincial government will be making their decision by this April 15 and this will be part of the 2003-04 budget. This will directly affect the school taxes paid by Whistler property owners.

There is a bit of a problem however. The provincial government’s track record on solving this problem has been a little bit like Tie Domi’s attempts at anger management. There is not a lot of credibility here. A proposal put forward by the committee which would best address the inequity while at the same time focusing the relief on those most in need, we have been told, is not acceptable to the government.

The School Tax Action Committee has called a meeting for Sunday, April 6, 3 to 5 p.m. at the Spruce Grove Park Field House (old KOA Campground building). At this meeting we hope to see all the Whistler resident homeowners who feel that their voice is not being heard. This is the time to receive accurate information. It is also the time to understand what is necessary to make our voice heard in Victoria.

See you there.

Paul O’Mara

Whistler School Tax Action Committee

 

The Cross-country skiing, in Whistler, has long been finished, the bulbs are starting to pop up and the bears are showing their noses out, but the Whistler Nordics Youth Club would still like to take the opportunity to say a big thank you to some very special businesses and people who have helped make the Whistler Nordics Youth Club program very successful this winter!

RMOW — to all the cross-country related staff.

Cross Country Connection — Ian and Chris.

Nesters Market — Bruce.

Wild Willies Ski Club — Bill and Grant.

Michelle Cosman — Sea to Sky Regional coach 02/03.

The program would not exist and not be totally successful without the commitment and keenness of the coaches who volunteered their time every week. Hats off to: Joanna Harrington, Jeanette Callahan, Kateri, Mills, Mike Gilhooly, Murray Farbridge and Nikki Kassel.

Last but not least, Cheryl Morningstar for her unselfish dedication to cross-country skiing in Whistler and especially for being the main driving force behind the Whistler Nordics Club.

To all the participants and their parents, thank you, for choosing the cross-country skiing sport to be part of your active lifestyle.

See you all next year! Have a great spring and summer!

P.S. forgive me if I forgot someone !

Michelle Crowe

Co-ordinator

Whistler Nordics Youth Club