Wednesday November 19, 2008
COLUMNISTS 
Will embracing a dark history dishearten the sick?
There are many scars on the walls of the old Don Jail, including one created 30 years ago as the result of a pioneering photo-op, when politicians and activists wielding a sledgehammer managed to knock off ''one-foot-square of stone facing on the southeast corner,'' according to a report in this newspaper.
EDITORIALS
Keeping a foot in the car door
The governments of Canada and Ontario need to stay in lockstep with the negotiations in the United States on the parlous condition of the North American automobile industry, lest Canada be left out and lose much of its auto sector.
Unanswered questions
The revelation that Stephen Harper will have to find a new lawyer to represent him in his $3.5-million defamation suit against the federal Liberal Party suggests that the Prime Minister's own advisers are not getting his full co-operation.
Adult, but not adult?
As a father, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has explained, he was moved by the pleas of Tim Mulcahy, whose 20-year-old son was killed along with two friends in a car crash last summer. What parent wouldn't be? But then, most parents do not run provincial governments. If they were, one hopes they would do a better job of distinguishing reason from emotion than Mr. McGuinty has now done in proposing new rules for young drivers.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Change, yes; everything, no
China's sheer weight means it has to be at any table, if one expects the discussions to make a difference, but China won't come in without cover from other developing countries (Paul Martin Gets The Last Laugh - And The G20 Changes Everything, Nov. 18). Mr. Martin invested considerable diplomatic effort in the number ''20,'' but there's no magic in it.
That was then, this is then
About 40 years ago, Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae and I were members of the University of Toronto's Historical Club, an innocently elitist group of earnest undergraduates who donned white shirts and ties (though it was the late sixties) to hear and present papers on arcane academic topics.
Battles are MIA in these parts
Since I founded YUMSO, the mature students organization at York University, for our 9,000 mature students, I've never encountered a battleground of any kind (Battle Of The Ages - At A Campus Near You, Nov. 18). I've counselled thousands of students and worked with hundreds of professors, teaching assistants, advisers and staff. With rare exception, mature students are welcomed and respected because they are highly focused, hardworking, don't cause problems in class, read their readings and, generally, are excellent students.
'On balance' is off balance
I am disappointed that The Globe takes the position that the appropriate alternative to the expense of Mohamed Harkat's bail supervision is to deport him to Algeria, under the cover of diplomatic assurances.
Not everyone's cross to bare
As a Quebecoise, Lysiane Gagnon sees nothing wrong with the fact the Quebec flag contains a cross (The ADQ Bubble Bursts - Nov. 17).Presumably, she would not see anything wrong with the fact that the French version of ENTITY ERROR: Ô is not recognized Canada contains the line: Il sait porter la croix.
Here I go again, my my ...
John Doyle thinks that the movie Mamma Mia! is a ''stinker''? Did he see the same film I did (Pack Up Your Troubles, Leave Your Worries Behind - Nov. 17)? It is by far the most fun I've had at any movie in years. Meryl Streep is fantastic; who knew she could sing like that? The sets, singing and choreography are pure entertainment. The music is sing-along fabulous as only ABBA with their non-intellectual lyrics can be. Hearing Pierce Brosnan sing is worth the price of admission.
'On balance' is off balance
The problem of what to do with Mohamed Harkat and other suspected terrorists isn't easy (The Costliest Way Is Not The Only Way - editorial, Nov. 18). But what you propose is absurd. Would you want to be deported to a country that ''on balance'' may or may not torture you?
In the political swing of it
Preston Manning should know that pendulum politics is the reason why, every once in a while, Canadians elect a Conservative government (Ain't Got That Swing? Don't Mean A Thing - Nov. 18). This gives the Liberals a chance to do a little housecleaning: open the windows, let in some fresh air, clean up in the corners a bit, that sort of thing.
What's with the questions?
What on Earth do the Mounties think they are doing? (Mounties Ask Recruits About Bestiality, Suicide - Nov. 17). They ask potential recruits about sex with animals, but not about credit history. Does this make sense to anyone outside the RCMP or, indeed, to very many inside it?
No democracy left to watch
Contrary to the suggestion by Democracy Watch's Duff Conacher (No Matter Where They Say It - letters, Nov. 18), parliamentary privilege is essential to protect ''honesty in politics.'' Parliament must be able to debate freely, without fearing libel suits or prosecution whenever controversial opinions are expressed.
Roman circus, circa 2008
Lynn Crosbie's column about the hapless young woman mocked by the judges on American Idol - abuse that contributed to her recent suicide? - reminds me why I hate such shows (The Judges Were Harsh, The Verdict Heartbreaking - Review, Nov. 18). Crude and cruel, they are the modern-day equivalent of the Roman circus.
Wonderful irony
Re Gunning For Capitalism (Nov. 18): Your letter writer's comment on Niall Ferguson's observations about the superiority of capitalism fails to mention one point: Mr. Ferguson's wonderfully ironic conclusion that the future of the world economy depends on China. Capitalism, huh?
