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<| WATERLOO CHRONICLE { The Waterioo Chrumcle is | published every Wednesday by The Fairway Group, a division of Southâ€" en Ontario Community Newspapers Inc . a division of Southam Publica nons, a CanWest Compant BB6Gâ€"2830 . Fax: BB6â€"4383 editonial@ waterloochronicle.ca salesemvaterloochronicle.ca composing@waterloochronicle.c he views of our colummists are the own and do nut necessarily represent thoye of the newspaper Unwayite Werdendart Gerry Mathice Group Sales Director . Retail Sales Manager. txi.230 Ken Bosveld Deborah Crandal Associate Publisher _ Editor, Ext. 215 75 King St. South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario N2J IP2 Associate Publisher: Ken Bosveld 905â€"523â€"5800, Ext. 239 Andrea Biiley Bb Vihionik I Reporter, Ext. 227. Sports Editor, Ext. 229 | Circulation Manager, Ext. 225 Regional Classified Classified Manager Sales, 623â€"8617 Vn Waterion © hromicle welcomes Ietrers ta the Editar: They should be signed with name. address and phone number and will be verified for accuracy. No unsigned letters will be published: Submissions may be edued for length. so please be brief Copyright m letters and other mate tials submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publication remains with the anihor. but the publisher and its licensees may freely repro duce them in print. electronic or other forms. Our mailing address is 75 King St. S . Suite 201. Waterion N2J 1P2, our e mail address is editorial@waterInochronicle ca and our fax number is 886 9383 Norma Cyca Melissa Hounslow Advertising Advertising Sales, Ext. 223 Sales, Ext. 222 anadian Putlicata Frodict Agnteints 4001504 Letters Policy viin Bastol Audited wrculation: 2644156 i‘ hi d Laune Ridgnwan hacen Daver Circulation Assistant Maol sake Mililum fox hunting fans in Britain are secretly attempting to bring the country to a standstill. Plans by radical groups boastâ€" ing more than 30,000 activists plan to blockâ€" ade food and petrol supplies. Janet George of the Countryside Action Network said "We will do whatever it takes to get our vaices hegrd. "If Britain goes to war with Iraq, Tony Blair will be fighting a war on two fronts." My opinions on this topic are quite the contrary. | am not an animal rights activist or a member of Greenpeace. My opinions come from the notion that the hunt in itself is an ancient tradition stemming from all cultures. Inghe Dakota or Sioux tribes, for example, the buffalo was their main form of susteâ€" nance and was deemed superior to the humans in many ways. They fed and clothed the humans, and when hunted, it was out of survival necessity and not for sport. The aniâ€" mal was not savagely slaughtered, but ritualâ€" ly slain, and they lived in a balanced ecosysâ€" tem. This ancient tradition ended within the space of a decade after the new world was found, and many of the tribes who held these ideals met &n end similar to that of the humâ€" ble buffalo, at the hands of people not all that different from the people who pursue the wicked and cruel sport of fox hunting. In Britain there holds some kind of a bent appeal in pursuing _ these cruel and inhuâ€" mane events. Proâ€"hunters set to _ paralyze Britain [ see no necessiâ€" tv, appeal or honâ€" our in a troop of egotistical aristoâ€" "eas crats plundering | A a communitv of | i# y \ innocent foxes for | ~* 4 fun. They use terms | [ l ‘ such as ‘for sport‘ and ‘pestâ€"control.‘ But let me ask, is it ,CHR]S sport or slaughter? O‘HANLON Where is the sport in teaching a 200â€"strong pack of bloodâ€" hounds to savagely slaughter an innocent mother vixen. Sport is different â€" it is when one person shoots a kill. Duty then binds the hunter to make use of his/her quarry for nutrition or to clothe him/herself. The forests are also managed so that the animal flourishâ€" es and does not become extinct. is this ‘sport‘ necessary? I seriously doubt if diminishing members of the British nobiliâ€" ty need to perform these cruel acts. They can well afford sustenance for survival in the usual socially acceptable way. Is it just a primitive bloodâ€"lust? Are we to believe that it is wrong to be cruel to animals when people serve jail sentences for misâ€" treating them? How can we say ‘no‘ to one circumstance and ‘yes‘ to a similar or more brutal tradition? Going by the opinions of other societies, that animals are equal to humans, 1 declare that it would be much more entertaining to observe one of these bigoted cruel people being down trodden by an angry mob of redundant steel factory personnel and Welsh coalminers. That would put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons, would it not? It is nice also to hear that a Bill to ban the sport is expected in the Queen‘s speech in November, and that Britain‘s Labour governâ€" ment is also backing it. It‘s nice to know that both the former mentioned parties do from time to time pursue worthwhile actions. Chris O‘Hanion is contributing in the editorial department of the Waterloo Chronicle for 10 weeks as part of the Wider Horizons program, which provides irish parâ€" ticipants with international work experience. <@ .Â¥ | * & | | ‘_)EAJ | CHRIS li O‘HANLON now a minority that VIEWPOINT PM Chretien has shot down a trial balloon which would have escalated the GST to 10 per cent. The extra impost would have taken care of hospital costs. Or so the rumour went. Still, a lot of folks aren‘t impressed by the PM‘s denial. They figure the tax will be raised sooner or later for medical reasons. Speaking of the GST and medical care, did you hear about the Christian Scientist who deducted a course in speed reading as a medical expense? On, On and On: The cost of the RIM inquiry is expected to double, and that‘s a surprise that really isn‘t. Most such investigations run much higher than anticipated. The tab has passed more than $600,000 and will last longer than the expected six weeks. When all the costs are in, the tab could be more than $1 million. On what the inquiry produced in its first week or so, I‘m a bit surprised. All of us suspected there was a minimum of signed stuff at various points during the deal, but to open the park without some signed stuff strikes us as a bravery that defies definition. This in a city that has proudly proclaimed that it‘s operated as a business. Some business! Say, the folks are really tuned in on the scandal. They love it when the newspaper is thrown on the front porch and the front page is smoking. The Sociable Thing: Tom Stockie, Waterloo‘s chief administraâ€" tive officer, surely blotted his record in detailing his social contacts with his opposite number on the financier‘s side. It‘s fine to get along amicably, but it‘s quite another to be buddyâ€" buddy with the other side. The socializing that Stockie did . (â€"â€"â€"â€" went far beyond what was called for in the normal process of negotiations. It opens the claim of conflict of interest. In spades. What‘s more, Stockie apparently did little to guide the executive team in the making of financial arrangements. As chief administrative officer, that fell within his duties. He talks about big projects he was involved in, but surely none approached RIM Park in magnitude. You have to wonder what his contriâ€" bution to the RIM Park discussions was. Besides going somewhere for skiing, dancing and so on. Smoke Haze: They‘re striving to tighten up the region‘s noâ€"smoking bylaw, and let‘s wish them success. The fact is that veterans‘ and other clubs will probably lose their exemptions and properly so. Taxes will rise for medical reasons First of all, the way things now stand, a signifi SANDY BAIRD cant portion of the members of veterans‘ organiâ€" zations aren‘t veterans and deserve no exempâ€" tion on the basis of past service to the country. Furthermore, the object of the bylaw is good health and there‘s no reasonâ€"no reason at allâ€" the club members should be allowed to continue puffing. The commercial clubs have an argument in contending the competition by such clubs is unfair. Wiping out the exemption is surely the fair thing to do. Remember, the family that smokes together chokes together. By the way, they now have cigaâ€" rettes with ear plugs for people who don‘t want to hear why they should quit smoking. No Ballot: Emie Eves has poohâ€"poohed the idea of a provincial election this fall. That should be greeted with huzzahs by all hands. If there is anything this province doesn‘t need right now, it‘s an election. Better the province (teachers included] should just settle down for a bit. That would allow us to get things organized. Incidentally, the teachers are talking about striking in January. That should seesmmmmamm) | cndear themselves to the voters. meamesiemell By the way, there are two festival events on Oct. 12â€"the 24th great Oktoberfest barrel race and the free pancake breakfast. You can put a team in the barrel race with proceeds going to Grand River Cancer Cenâ€" tre. And don‘t forget the great Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day parade on Oct. 14. It‘s by far the best parade in these parts every year. Say, speaking of Waterloo, one super computâ€" er chip company is so successful it‘s starting to look for a smaller space.. Cabinet Minister? You‘d have to bet that Andy Telegdi will be in line for a cabinet minisâ€" ter‘s role when Paul Martin takes over as PM After all, Andy split with Jean Chretien away back when and has been a Martin supporter since. It‘ll be interesting to see if Andy gets a spot and which one it is He‘s much too young to be a senator, you know .... be right with you dear.... I‘m just taking out the garbage. Of course, there was a mistake on the other side, too. That was when the province agreed to underwrite the costs of private schooling. That helped weaken the status of public education. Incidentally, the kids don‘t like it when the teachers strike. They haven‘t got anybody to ignore. Ein Prosit! Fairly soon now we‘ll see fat chaps running around in tight leather shortts, and we‘ll know that Oktoberfest is here again. On the other hand, the ladies look fetching in the Oktoberfest attire. 735 > F2R :'_";‘"4( Aogsediy, ic‘