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On this date, Sept. 11, the press is publishing articles about the terrorist attack on the towers in New York and the 3,000 innocent victims. By coincidence, the same date brings sad memories for many Chileans as we remember the U.S.-sponsored military coup that propelled the country into extreme repression and terror. Historians and human rights advocates agree that about 5,000 people were executed, more than 50,000 tortured, and almost half a million went into exile. Relatives of the missing people still hope to recover the bodies of their loved ones and wait for justice to be done.

Now we feel safe and secure in the countries that provided us asylum. We are told to forgive and forget, but if we do so we are betraying those who are hoping for justice. Only a few individuals are serving short sentences for the crimes they committed, not in the filthy jails we were subjected to, but in luxurious new buildings. Gen. Augusto Pinochet and other high-ranking officers are now dead, other pathological murderers are free in Miami, living without fear of extradition. Many of us are remembering that dark chapter in the history of Chile. How to forget?

Francisco Valenzuela

Winnipeg

Shame on Canada

Re: WRHA, Health Canada cut off charity (Sept. 5). So it is OK for us to sell asbestos to India but not OK for us to donate used medical equipment to Third World communities in need. The people at the top surely have the power to change absurd policies like these, yet say their hands are tied. Why? Because it's too much work or not enough profit? Winnipeggers, call your MPs and let them know this policy must be changed. Otherwise, shame on Canada and shame on us all for sitting there and doing nothing about it.

ALISON PAGSUYUIN

Winnipeg

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I'm not a lawyer or a medical ethicist. I'm probably naive and ingenuous. However, as surely as there are lawyers and bureaucrats in this world, there must be a way for the WRHA and Health Canada to allow surplus medical equipment to be used by people who need it. What is so difficult about a liability waiver that releases the current owners from legal responsibility? Let's sharpen our pencils and solve this.

Larry Isacoff

Winnipeg

Magnum mistake

Re: Who coulda dreamed of this much 'Cuda? (Sept. 4). Columnist Larry D'Argis writes about a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda. He refers not once, but twice, to the engine in the 'Cuda as a "Magnum."

When Chrysler Corporation produced their high performance 383 cubic inch and 440 cubic inch motors for their Dodge and Plymouth muscle car lineups, they were given a designated name for each motor. On the dodge side, the HiPo 383 and 440 were indeed called the "Magnum." For the Plymouth side, however, these motors were known as the "Super Commando."

For a so-called auto enthusiast to permit such a gaffe to appear in print is most humiliating. Perhaps a modicum of research will prevent any such future embarrassments.

BRENT HAMEL

Dufresne

No apology needed

Re: Restaurant bans husband of woman with H1N1 (Sept. 9). The report that the Seven Sisters restaurant had to apologize for refusing entry to a man because his wife was sick with H1N1 makes me wonder why they had to apologize when the man himself should apologize for going in when his wife had such a nasty type of flu. Hello people; he should've never been there in the first place.

Jan Sullivan

Whitby, Ont.

Pigs need protection

Re: Barn fires should be prevented (Sept. 9). I care about the welfare of all animals and believe most Canadians feel the same. My tax dollar is given to pork producers, yet there is no requirement that they include a simple fire alarm in their animal factories? These mammals possess the same nervous systems as you and I and will suffer in a fire just as we would.

These poor creatures have almost zero protection; it's anything goes when it comes to a farmed animal. They live a miserable existence confined in inhumanely tiny cages. As Canadians, we like to think well of ourselves, yet our laws show a people void of mercy.

Catherine King

Winnipeg

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On the issue of hog barn fires, even being a vegetarian does not get me off the hook for responsibility for these deaths -- even though each death breaks my heart deeply because each little life was precious and deserved protection, freedom and dignity. All of society is wrong to continue such practices.

One day, not too far in the future, I am sure that a new generation will look back and say: "They did what for gastric preferences? Such cruelty."

Shawna Watson

Winnipeg

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 11, 2009 A12