The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

VIEWPOINT John B. McClelland i LETTERS TO EDITOR ON A ROLLERCOASTER ' What a welcome joy it was to have a few days off over Christmas to relax with family and friends without, for one week at least, having to contend with the pressures of publishing this newspaper. The folks who put the Citizen out work extremely hard at their jobs and we all needed the chance to "re- charge" for 1994. Personally, I didn't do very much and this gave me a chance to get caught up on my reading, newspaper reading that is. I am a regular reader of daily newspapers, but on most days my "reading" is little more than a quick scan, However, for the past week I have been able to read the papers cover to cover, really get into some excellent articles on business, the arts and entertainment, social and economic policy, sports, even book reviews. What a rollercoaster of an experience it was, On the one hand, I was pumped up by what many astute analysts predict will be a much improved 1994 economically speaking#" all over North America. «_ Here in Canada, interest rates are at 20 year lows, the TSE index gained almost ofie-third in '93, and our newly elected federal government (so far) has done nothing to shake confidence. Speaking of confidence, consumers south of the border spent in November and December, surely a positive sign. And judging by the reports of the Boxing Day shopping frenzy right here, Canadians are feeling better about parting with their hard-earned dollars. Large corporations on this side of the Atlantic are predicting a brighter' year in terms of sales and profits. There were even reports that said our horrible unenfployment rate could drop a couple of points before the end of 1994, ; OK, that's the good news. My careful reading of the papers over Christmas left me with feelings of dread that the world is certainly out of whack and not likely to get much better. Here are just a few examples: North Korea, one of the world's most hell ent nati Imost certainly is a member of the nuclear club. The thought of North Korea with its finger on the button of a nuclear weapon (no matter how crude) is totally frightening. "The pale glimmer of hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians remains just that, a pale glimmer. The stories, not to mention the photos out of Bosnia are as horrendous as ever; likewise Somalia. The politics baffle me totally, but the bloodshed and cruelty is real. I shudder at what is going on in the former Soviet Union where crime is rampant, the economy has gone down the tubes and politically, Russia may turn to the old ways or neo-facism under Vladimir what's-his-name. And who has a finger on that huge. nuclear arsenal in such unstable times. Japan is in the throes of its worst recession in decages while her neighbours in wri are enjoying an eco t boom. That kind of instal is potentially dangerous if ory is any lesson. e amount of sheer human misery shows no sign of abating, The number of homeless souls on this planet is measured in the tens of millions; 750,000 refugees are waiting to get into Europe. The litany of woe goes on. Here in Canada, we are so much better off most, yet the papers are filled each day with stories of random crime, violent crime where guns have replaced knives (which replaced fists and boots) as the norm rather than the exception. Life in Canada has been cheapened. In large cities, the risk is greater, but even in small towns, there is no immunity. In all my Christmas reading I found no stories about a former scourge of mankind--the threat of nuclear war. And 1 found precious few about the environment, except the east-coast cod fishery. It was more about economics than the environment. I came®away from my comfortable week of Christmas reading in a mixed frame of mind: on the one hand encouraged that economically, the coming year will be better, but mortified at just how violent this planet has become. Media bias a common thing, reader charges + To the Editor: Hats off the Peter Sauve of Montreal who filed a complaint to the Ontario Press Council against the Toronto Star and won his case. The column, p 17, hlished N. h out very important facts. Having been found out by Peter Sauve, the Star tri to sweep the whole thing under carpet. As we know, media bias j y 1992; d Quebec angloph of "endless whining and griping." It cited 1985 statistics showing in that year a unilingual anglophone earned 23.4 per cent more than a unilingual francophone. Sauve of Montreal complained that the column omitted the fact that English speaking Quebeckers as a group are more highly educated than francophones. He added that the column was misleading because it did not take account of another stat, showing that a unilingual anglophone earned 12.8 per cent less than a unilingual francophone if both had the same education. "How could the columnist, who got his earlier numbers from the same chart, have missed the key figure?" he asked. Sauve said his complaint was that the Star did not publish any of the four letters, each one shorter than the previous one, that he wrote in response to the column. Telro's interpretation of the Toronto Star response was that the Star was caught fudging the numbers and leaving thing. We, as an organization run across it every day. Thanks again to Peter Sauve and others like him who fight this bias and in turn spread the real facts so people can come to honest conclusions based on correct information. The Quebec provincial government sponsored a study among anglophones in Montreal. The study, prepared by the Office de la langue francais indicated -' that half of those surveyed would leave an independent Quebec. Of Quebec's 760,000 anglophones, 70 per cent live in Montreal. Those who said they would leave were asked to choose one of more reasons from a list. Those most often cited were fear of disastrous economic situation, fear of losing Canadian citizenship, fear of losing rights, fear they will be prevented from speaking English and fear of being badly treated. I suspect that all the above fears are well founded. Dean Kelly, President, Assoc. Dedicated Canadians, Port Perry, Ont. IStick to martial arts, To the Editor: In response to the so-called interview with Sensei Rob Dodds of the Wado Kai Club. In actuality, it was a poorly disguised way to take some cheap shots at Hiryu Bushido Khai. I have known Sensei Dodds as long as he has been involved in martial arts and have trained with him as well. I find it hard to believe that a man I always idered to be a gentl would stoop to this. 1 see no need to resort to cheap shots about HBK and am surprised that Sensei Vanheiningen would allow her name on this. By the way, I am also a "home grown" black belt who has trained and taught for the last 18 years in the Port Perry and interview was lousy' Uxbridge areas. You can also add the names of Senseis Jackman, Prohaska, Risdahl and Shihan Walker to the "home grown" list as well as many other of our instructors. I am terribly disappointed and can hardly believe you said those things, Rob. I have been teaching at HBK since it opened and have never heard anyone at our full time commercial Dojo taking cheap shots at your club. 1, by the way, get paid nothing for the several hours each week I teach. It is something I do for the community and our children. Stick to martial arts, Rob, your interview was lousy. Sensei Brian Norrish, Hiryu Bushido Kai, Port Perry. Small town caring in evidence everywhere To the Editor: When the voice on the phone, early on a frosty Christmas morning is a familiar Durham Region Police officer calling to tell you that the business you have worked hard to build for 26 years is on fire, and the Fire Department is already on its way--time momentarily stops for you--but not for the efficient * team of police, ambulance and fire departments which converge on the scene within minutes. Back-ups from Caesarea and Uxbridge quickly joined Port Perry, responding to a potentially serious situation. As 1 stood in the bitter cold watching these volunteer firefighters who have left warm homes, Christmas gifts and excited children to come to help me in my time of need, I felt truly blessed on this Christmas Day. Though we knew some of the firefighters, most of the volunteers did not know us at all, And yet it was their sacrifice and bravery that prevented a crisis in our lives and the loss of jobs for our co-workers. It was not a banner year (1993) for us. It was one which brought illness and death of a loved one to our family, but through the events of the year we have been sup) by fine people in our ty. ; Countless people who through their everyday sharing, whether in their jobs, their volunteer work or in other ways, have used their time, talents and "thoughtfulness to make our path easier to travel in 1993. As the new year begins we are pitalg/a thankful that our h emergency, teams are ding well trained. Let us doall that we can to keep them well equipped so that that they can perform their tasks safely and Want to To the Editor; effectively. And with this, let us be thankful that "small town" loving and caring is so evident all about us. Our people make the difference, and 1994 will be better because of them. Pray that I can make a difference too. Sincerely, Gail Kerry, Utica Farm Limited, Utica. Equipment help the 'kids?' Please let us know if you will Caring Parents, G and Friends are invited to be our guest for dinner, Wednesday evening 12 January 1994 at 7:00 PM to learn. . . "HOW YOU CAN HELP" our Township of "kids". Our "kids" have formed committees and have been holding mtetings, Planning and preparing their programms. Now, they need our help. be coming by 5 J y 1994. We are a coed club/organization. Please invite your spouse, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, others who may be interested and not soe this invitation. You don't have to be an Optimist member to assist in our programs for our "kids". We will need help for our Bike Safety Week in each of our communities in Scugog. volunteer now, in order that we may make our plans. For more information and to let us know you are coming for dinner, please call William Magee at 576-1198. HELP THEMSELVES AND HELP OTHER KIDS . . HAVE FUN". William Magee Optimist Club