Send tiny shoes to Pope at the Vatican
Let鈥檚 quit talking and start healing. Let鈥檚 fill a plane load of tiny shoes and send them to the Pope.
After all, he is morally responsible and the Vatican is responsible for the monetary compensation to the millions of victims. Our government can only do so much. It鈥檚 time for the 鈥淗oly See鈥� to actually see what they are responsible for.
Susan Dee
Oak Bay
Italian 91原创s deserve an apology
A letter-writer argues that the Government of Canada need not apologize to Italian 91原创s for internment during the Second World War, because we were at war with Italy.
I believe the argument is fallacious, for two reasons.
First, there was no corresponding large-scale internment of our German or German-91原创 population, whether they were naturalized citizens or landed immigrants, or second-generation citizens.
One may wonder why blond and light-complected people were not interned in large numbers while dark haired and (sometimes) swarthy people were.
Second, justifiable internment that is the conclusion of an evidence-based process of inquiry is one thing, but internment solely on the basis of personal and emotional responses to the reality of the war is quite another.
Many Italian 91原创s were interned without there being any evidence whatsoever of complicity with the enemy. They were interned on the basis of emotional and completely unsubstantiated charges brought by individuals.
They were interned without due process.
An apology is necessary and appropriate.
David King
Victoria
How many more trees will be felled?
If all products made from the destruction of old-growth trees had to carry a label disclosing this, imagine how quickly logging companies would switch from being destroyers of old-growth trees to being champions of the perfectly substitutable and sustainable alternative of harvesting intentionally grown trees.
An end to the destruction of old-growth trees is inevitable and clearly, public opinion is that it must be now before any more old-growth trees are lost.
The important question for me is this: How many more trees will be destroyed on Premier John Horgan鈥檚 watch?
Joanne Thibault
Victoria
Serious questions about saving daylight
The first time I recall ever hearing the term Daylight Saving Time was as a schoolboy in England during the Second World War.
I remember being confused by the concept of saving daylight, but I kept my mouth shut. This was because if you asked questions in an English grammar school of the old era, you were likely to get a clump on the head and to be told to not be a 鈥渃lever swine.鈥�
Our similarity to those intelligent porcine creatures was never explained.
I am now in my 87th year, and I have finally screwed up the courage to challenge this concept.
It would appear that the amount of daylight, while varying day to day with the passing of the year, is a constant.
How does one go about saving it? Assuming there is a cogent answer to this question, what does one do with it after it is saved? Where does one put it? Can you bottle it?
I would like to think that in the sere and yellow of my life this mystery might be solved.
Richard Cowling
Courtenay
Recognize some dog breeds as dangerous
With the issue about dog leashes in 颅Saanich, why have certain breeds not been recognized and classified as aggressive or dangerous? Those well-known breeds should then be required to always be leashed and possibly muzzled when off the dog owner鈥檚 property.
We use snaffle bits on horses tongues and hobble their legs to control behaviour. Why not use available and humane controls on known dangerous and aggressive dog breeds?
Read the history of certain breeds. The dogs always mentioned in the media were inter-bred to be aggressive and trained to attack and control humans.
It鈥檚 not the dog鈥檚 fault, it鈥檚 simply in their nature. Some places ban those aggressive and dangerous breeds entirely. So controlling certain breeds鈥� behaviour using available restraints is a great compromise.
Doug Coulson, dog owner
Saanich
Shelters available, so ban park camping
Re: 鈥淰ictoria mayor proposes ban on 颅sheltering at Beacon Hill Park,鈥� May 29.
I applaud Mayor Lisa Helps for moving to ban all camping in Beacon Hill Park. But why until just after the next municipal election and why just Beacon Hill Park?
There is no legal requirement to allow any camping, at any time of the day or night, if there are shelters available. That, according to what we have repeatedly been told, is currently the case.
Continuing to make the parks available for camping, even during overnight hours only, is just inviting more problems.
The city needs to either secure an adequate number of indoor emergency shelters or find some appropriate location for camping if and when there is an emergency situation in the future when an adequate number of indoor shelters are not available.
Public parks were never intended for camping of any type and duration, nor are they an appropriate location for same. They are for people鈥檚 recreational use only.
All camping in all public parks needs to be banned immediately.
Chris Lawson
Victoria
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