Have your say

Beyond our control

Re: 'We ain't seen nothin' yet' (Letters, Nov. 7). No doubt we are in for more extreme climate change that causes disasters. But driving electric cars, using solar panels and proliferating wind farms seem like a case of too much, too little, too late.

All this accumulation of data and research is based on the presumption that we humans are the main cause of our problem today. It empowers us and gives us some security to believe if we caused the problem we can fix it.

But what if it is beyond our control? What if the variance of the Earth's axis in relation to the sun plays a major role? Is the sun getting inexplicably hotter or is the depleted ozone layer we have apparently created all on our own truly the cause of most of this?

What if this is just part of a natural process, as other experts have said? There are two sides to every argument, one of which we really don't want to consider.

KEN McINTYRE

Winnipeg

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Curtis Hull joins opportunistic politicians in blaming Hurricane Sandy on global warming without a shred of evidence for support. If he would do a simple exercise such as checking U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data from the 1950s, he would find that there were 10 Category 3 and 4 hurricanes that hit the East Coast in less than 10 years and others in the past centuries.

Sandy was not even a hurricane when it hit the coast, so the media had to coin the term "superstorm."

GERALD MACHNEE

Lockport

A little too easy

Re: Israel given a pass, Letters, Nov. 5. There has been some valuable discussion regarding Leigh Halprin's Oct. 27 letter, Addressing anti-Semitism. It has been suggested that people should not criticize the policies of the state of Israel without first criticizing the policies of other nations that also commit human-rights violations.

I would like to point out that regimes like Syria, North Korea and Iran make no pretense towards being liberal democracies that place a premium on the rule of law. The state of Israel and its defenders do so continually.

While it's perfectly legitimate and necessary to express outrage at the human rights abuses of states that function outside international norms, it's also a little too easy. Those states couldn't care less about international opinion. Wouldn't common sense suggest supporters of human rights focus at least some of their efforts on a state that loudly proclaims its status as the only democracy in the Middle East?

LANSING BRUCE ROBERTSON

Winnipeg

Partnering with India

I commend you for your excellent Nov. 6 editorial Court India vigorously. In my opinion, Canada has so far not concentrated on trade and investment deals with this rising power. As the country produces perhaps the highest numbers of engineers and technocrats, all trained in world-class educational institutions, India has unparalleled human resources and wealth to help build a good partnership with our country, Canada.

I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Stephen Harper for leading a high-profile trade mission and sending his cabinet ministers more frequently than ever before to develop a trustworthy relationship with India. As a professional man, I can say that the sky is the limit if we work with India's emerging business leaders and not concentrate too much on any controversial issues. Canada is the best country to build unique partnerships with India, because we both believe in the ideals of multicultural and multilingual societies.

I see a positive trend in Manitoba, where our business community is taking an interest in promoting international trade. I encourage our government and our leaders to do precisely as you have written in the editorial's concluding sentences. With our natural-resources-based economy and strong agricultural sector, Manitoba can do far more business with India.

NARENDRA MATHUR

Winnipeg

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This editorial touches on important issues but fails to address the foundation of courting a nation. A lesson in Indian history may be of help. At the same time, treating our immigrants with a bit more respect will also help to open the doors.

It is good for our prime minister to go to the Golden Temple and to the Taj Mahal, but it is equally important that we level the playing field for the highly educated immigrant population that ends up driving taxis, and working for security companies or in daycares because they cannot find work in their own fields. We all know that courtship only lasts when we treat our partner as an equal and with respect.

MANJU LODHA

Winnipeg

A sign of problems

This most recent accident involving a child on Portage Avenue proves how imperative school zone safety is. Winnipeg is missing 206 school-zone signs. This is on top of countless other signing issues around schools.

The zone where the accident occurred happens to be one of the many affected by improper signing. Many school principals and the City of Winnipeg have known about this problem since June and still there has been no action. Is a child going to have to be killed before we start fixing our grossly inadequate school signing?

CHRISTIAN SWERYDA

East St. Paul

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 12, 2012 A10