Letters, Aug. 9

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2024 (425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lower limits a good thing

Research generally supports the claim that lower speed limits in school zones save lives and prevent injuries.

The rationale behind lower speed limits in these areas is to reduce the likelihood and severity of accidents involving children, who are more vulnerable due to their smaller size and unpredictable movements. Key findings from studies in the U.S., Australia, Sweden, and an overview by the World Health Organization show that lower speed reduces the frequency and severity of injuries and allow drivers more reaction time.

Some studies suggest that simply lowering the speed limit may not be sufficient to reduce accidents, but when combined with measures such as enforcement, clear signage, and community education, lower speed limits are highly effective.

My suggestion is to enact and enforce 30 km/h speed limits in school and playground zones every day year-round and to highlight these zones with signage and flashing yellow caution lights. Drivers would not get caught for missing a sign in an unfamiliar area or forgetting time of day or month of year.

This plan would also add a few minutes to their commute each week, but how many minutes is a child’s life worth?

Laura Sokal

East St. Paul

 

No to nuclear waste storage

Re: A home for spent fuel (Think Tank, July 29)

Years ago the nuclear industry told us they were working on a way to make nuclear waste benign: they have not succeeded. Now they are telling us they can bury it and it will pose no risk.

The nuclear industry has failed to find a way to make nuclear waste safe so they want to permanently store it, near us. Transporting nuclear waste from eastern Canada to be stored in an underground facility near the water source for Manitoba is a threat to all who rely on that water and all the people who live and travel along the transportation route. If you live in southern Manitoba, that includes you.

If you travel east across Canada, that also includes you. Manitoba does not rely on nuclear power, so why are we being put at risk? Manitoba needs to say no to nuclear waste storage that could potentially poison our waters.

Shawn Kettner

Winnipeg

 

Tracking differences

Re: Women’s wars (Letters, Aug. 8); Gender gap at top of North American politics perplexing, pain-inducing (July 31)

If Rene Jamieson believes that women are as aggressive as men and “the only real difference between males and females is indicated by which bathroom they use at a restaurant,” perhaps he can explain why, according to the 2015 International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, sex differences in aggression is one of the most robust and oldest findings in psychology.

In fact, studies, such as a 2004 one done by the University of Central Lancashire, have found direct correlation between testosterone and dominance, especially among the most violent criminals in prison who had the highest testosterone levels. And a 2013 global study on homicide by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that males accounted for about 95 per cent of all convicted homicide perpetrators worldwide.

I agree with Jamieson that “not all men are aggressive, any more than all women are passive,” and I’m keenly aware that statistics can be cherry-picked to support one’s arguments, but 95 per cent? That very starkly shows that there is indeed a significant difference between the sexes in regard to the potential for violence.

Cheryl Moore

Winnipeg

 

Compassion first

Re: More grace for refugees (Think Tank, Aug. 8)

I very much appreciated the observations by Shannon Sampert highlighting what she described as the “compassionate alternative” as it relates to Canada and our response to the growing global refugee population. Current and recent trends mean that Canada and other nations will continue to be challenged to accept more and more refugees in the future.

Canada’s refugee program remains a key part of our economic and social fabric. Refugees contribute greatly to our well-being as a country.

We can always strive for better ways to integrate refugees into Canadian society, with instruments like the private sponsorship program. Many Canadian and Winnipeg based agencies have decades of experience in settling refugees. Both refugees and Canadians alike have had lives enriched through this experience.

In a world filled with so much conflict, showing compassion is indeed a good starting point and alternative that is worthy of our support.

Robert Granke

Winnipeg

 

Trust the machine

If artificial intelligence is so wonderful, let’s use it now. U.S. President Joe Biden should retire all U.S. Supreme Court justices in favour of nine AI entities with no bias to make proper, logical legal decisions.

AI cannot be influenced by politics, lavish paid vacations, expensive cars and even bribes. AI does not collect any salary or great pensions paid by the American taxpayers. With AI, legal matter decisions would and should be made the same day it is sent to the AI Supreme Court for action and not take months or weeks for a verdict to be made.

So, do away with humans who can be influenced by material things and welcome AI — pure, logical and simple — into the political scene.

Robert J. Moskal

Winnipeg

 

The worth of the VP’s office

Re: A VP who knows his neighbours (Editorial, Aug. 8)

I enjoyed your editorial. You are being, however, overoptimistic as to the potential impact of Tim Walz.

I don’t say this as a criticism of Walz, but as a reflection of the role of a vice-presidential candidate. Both parties are monitoring the other carefully. They will jump on any perceived discrepancy between what the presidential candidate says and comments by his or her running mate.

Both Walz and Vance will be told to read from the script and not freelance. This is regrettable, as I suspect that both Walz and Vance have ideas that would be superior to those of Harris and Trump. In fact, a presidential contest between Walz and Vance might be something to be desired.

John Nance Garner, two-term vice-president to FDR, once opined that the office of vice-president, “Was not worth a quart of warm spit.”

The next few months should establish whether Garner was right.

Kurt Clyde

Winnipeg

 

Let clear heads prevail

Re: The not-so-unexpected return of Sio Silica (Editorial, July 29)

Has the stench of political scandal surrounding Sio Silica’s controversial quartz silica mine and processing plant doomed the project? Remarkably, it still remains a live issue. That might seem improbable given recent news stories about members of the former Progressive Conservative government attempting to ram through an environmental licence for the project after they lost the election but before the NDP officially took over.

Even at the risk of contaminating the water aquifers/ and creating massive sink holes, it is apparent that some officials are more interested and motivated in the 8,000 ghost jobs that may be created in this catastrophic under taking.

When will clearer minds prevail, to prevent this armageddon from taking place?

John Fefchak

Virden