Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 01, 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page a10 City fit for a museum t o Spruce up its image for the olympics China moved factories banned taxis relocated people and even tried to improve the weather. Vancouver Isnit going quite that far As it prepares for the 2010 Winter olympics but it is struggling frantically to clean up the poverty and despair in the downtown Eastside the equivalent of Winnipeg Gas inner City. In a few years Winnipeg will take its place on the world stage when the Canadian museum for human rights opens. Guests from around the world May be invited possibly including living giants such As Nelson Mandela and Vaclav Havel and the relatives of legends like Gandhi and Martin Luther King or. To prepare for the momentous occasion Gail Asper the museums chief advocate and fundraiser is urging the City to clean up its act. We have to eliminate poverty violence racial slurs and other crimes is. Asper told a business luncheon recently. She said it was necessary to make these fundamental changes because Winnipeg must be seen As a Leader of human rights. Naturally the City will want to make sure the grass is Cut the litter removed and the potholes filled but it would be an exaggeration and a false Hope to think that All our social problems and All the deficiencies along Portage Avenue can be swept clean in time for opening Day. For All its Gargantuan efforts Beijing fooled no one about its poor record on the environment and human rights. As for Vancouver it remains to be seen what judgments will be passed on the City or How successful it will be at hiding the tragic face of homelessness. Winnipeg does have problems with poverty and crime most of it located in or around the downtown itself a bit of an embarrassment at times. Its True that aboriginal people Are disproportionately represented on the welfare Rolls and in jails but the reasons for their poverty and alienation Are rooted in the past and not a reflection of the current attitudes of canadians. Racism exists but it is not tolerated. Indeed most of the problems that is. Asper wants to eliminate in Winnipeg can be found to some degree in most major cities. Los Angeles for example has much More severe problems with crime poverty and racism yet it is also the proud Home of the museum of tolerance which is similar to the institution being built in Winnipeg. Winnipeg can do a better Job of helping the Down and out and alleviating homelessness but they Are Long term projects much like the endeavour to revitalize the downtown. The new museum will help in those efforts making Winnipeg proud in the process. It will definitely create an impression of a City with imagination vision and heart. Hopefully it will also spawn a new generation of citizens dedicated to the dignity of Man which is the Best solution to All our problems. Editorials Winnipeg free press wednesday october 1, 2008 Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights a 10 comment editor Gerald flood 697 7269 Gerald. Flood free press. My. Ca Winnipeg repress. Com have your say the free press welcomes letters from readers. They must include the authors name address and Telephone number. Letters May be edited. Letters to the editor 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg r2x 3b6. Fax 697 7412. E mail letters free press. My. Ca letters represent the opinions of their writers and do not reflect the opinions of the Winnipeg free press or its staff. Poll vote online at wow. Winnipeg repress. Com Lesley Hughes responds six years ago i wrote a column which examined evidence that the u. S. Occupation of Afghanistan May have been motivated by the drive for Oil and drug profits. As background i reported that the intelligence agencies of Germany Israel and Russia All warned the Cia that the attacks of sept. 11 were coming a fact also reported in the London Telegraph the Jerusalem Rostand on Fox news. I noted that the u. S. Disregarded the warnings but israeli businesses took them seriously and sensibly vacated the twin towers. The Canadian jewish Congress seems to have assumed that i am one of those who subscribe to a bizarre conspiracy theory that the worlds jews were responsible for 9 11, a ludicrous idea i have never supported. As a result of the congresses Assumption i have been slandered As an odious anti semite a claim accepted by the prime minister by the Leader of the opposition and the nations Media. I have also been labelled an extremist nut bar who has promoted rather than investigated the possibility that 9 11 was an inside Job. As a result the voters of Kildonan St. Paul have no Liberal candidate and a narrower debate before electing their my. One Hopes journalists will be asking two questions 1 who benefits from this hysteria 2 is it still possible for journalists to do the work of journalism which is to Challenge the official Story in an atmosphere of fear and ridicule Lesley Hughes Winnipeg shocked at her firing i was shocked to hear that Lesley Hughes had been dropped As a Liberal candidate. I have great admiration for this journalist although i do not know her personally. I do not believe she is anti semitic. I attended a talk she gave last Winter at a jewish Community Centre. She was Well received and the audience seem to appreciate her remarks. At that time there was no indication that anyone disagreed with her comments or thought she was anti semitic. I know that the jewish Community has Many supporters of human rights and free speech. I cannot help but wonder if the Canadian jewish Congress overreacted in judging a Winnipeg Ger that they May not have known personally or her reputation locally. I think the voters should be allowed to choose their candidate since we live in a democracy. Ruth Swan Winnipeg hold on to medicare born and raised in Canada i now live in Kentucky. I understand from Frances russells sept. 24 column that american pro Market interests Are trying to get a foothold in the Canadian health care system believing it a peach Ripe for the picking. Free press readers Are urged to stand up for your humane and equitable medicare system. While the plan is not perfect the provincial ministries of health Are accountable to the taxpayers. Costs Are tied to the Price of services not determined by profit hungry shareholders. According to the wait times posted on the Manitoba health website a patient May wait a few weeks for a scan or non urgent procedure but patients know that they will eventually receive Quality care with the Bill prepaid by their own tax dollars. No one is excluded due to inability to pay. Such is not the Case for the 46 million americans 540,000 kentuckians who Lack insurance most because they cannot afford the premiums. Believe me Manitoba does not want our two tier system of haves and have not. Harriette Seiler Louisville by chiefs vision flawed re give first nations their own Riding sept. 29. Chief Morris j. Swan Shanna Cappo believes there should be separate Ridings that would consist of first nations members Only. Shanna Cappo anticipates the howls of protest for what Many would correctly perceive As racial gerrymandering but he can Only offer the rather paranoid justification that the current electoral system is rigged to leave first nations voters powerless. Underlying Shanna Cappos idea is a belief in the immutable antipathy Between settlers and natives. Whatever colonial tensions that currently exist within Canada Are there Only because politicians like Shanna Cappo keep pulling the red threads out of the social fabric of Canada. While most canadians choose where they live writes Shanna Cappo indians live on Small reserves designed to keep Large numbers of indians from getting together to rebel. For Shanna Cappo the establishment of the reserves was a defensive measure. Of course with Indian Only Ridings would come the development of our own political parties. A political party that caters to one race of people with a paranoid self narrative of ongoing oppression and persecution Shanna Cappo evinces a Complete disbelief in both human Equality and the capacity of Western liberalism to produce minds that can transcend prejudice and bigotry. Mike Melanson Winnipeg play Ball mayor Katz re How Riverside Park plays bal sept. 29. If Riverside Park management is playing a fair game it should open its books. I am convinced Winnipeg philanthropist and can West founder the late Israel Asper would say lets play Ball without hesitation. If there is no foul mayor Sam Katz Why Are you hiding behind this Good mans name put your Money where your Mouth is and prove you know when to bunt and when to swing can West fans Are waiting. Charlotte Tataryn Winnipeg nationalizing wont help regarding Ray Kathawa Roones letter nationalize Oil companies sept. 27i suggest that Kat Haroon has it backwards. He wants the government to take Over Oil refineries in order to control pricing when in fact government meddling in industries tends to make them More expensive and less efficient. I ask him this How Well have government monopolies worked in the past with government monopolies comes less Choice. While Gas companies have the incentive to be profitable the government does not which results in High overhead and poor service. In fact a Large part of the problem with Gas prices is government involvement. Thirty per cent of Gas prices Are made up of taxes. There is great government pressure on the Industry to not build new refineries and no major ones have been built in the u. S. Since 1976 and there Are Only a few in Canada. Many have closed Over 100 since 1980. If companies were Able to build new refineries and perhaps incorporate More efficient technology then perhaps Gas would Cost less. While that is just a theory the evidence shows that nationalizing products and services certainly does not make them less expensive perhaps Only subsidized so other people end up paying for your lifestyle choices or More efficient. After All How Long did you wait at the emergency room the last time you were there Scott Carnegie Ste. Anne Winnipeg free press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 vol 136 no 320 2008 Winnipeg free press a division of up Canadian newspapers limited partnership published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg Manitoba r2x 3b6, pm 697 7000 a member of the Manitoba press Council Bob Cox / publisher Margo Goodhand / editor to Days question which debate if any do you plan to watch thursday night previous question will the Market mayhem cause you to adjust your portfolio yes 22% no 78% total 1,387 letter of the Day hotel experience fun i am just curious what the big Deal is about kids living in hotels. I was one of those kids placed in a hotel by child and family services when i was in my Early teens. There were six of us in three different hotel rooms. We had a great time. It Felt special not horrible. For a few of the kids there it was the closest thing to an adventure they had Ever had. None of us complained none of us cared that we we rent in real Homes. For some of us who had been in real Homes the hotel was a breath of fresh air where we could be free to be kids. Being in the hotel beat the Heck out of some of the abusive Foster Homes and group Homes Many of us were eventually placed in. Staying in the hotel was far More preferable to All but one of the Homes i was placed in while in the care of cos. I think people should be More concerned about the care kids in Foster and group Homes Are subjected to. Angela Mannette Winnipeg Quick fix at the or the Winnipeg regional health authority has found what it thinks is a fix for the glaring flaw in its emergency room intake system at the health sciences Centre greeters at the door something like Wal Mart. All who enter will get a Green wristband indicating they want to see a doctor but have not been assessed by a nurse. Hiring people to watch people waiting to see a doctor Means that at some times on some Days or nights the watchers communicators will also be hired to talk to those in the waiting room will be doing not much beyond watching each other. Their jobs will be to Monitor the or traffic Light or heavy. That will happen if there Are five or 15 people waiting to see a doctor whether the Waits Are two hours or eight hours Long. The problem with the or triage system at the Hsc is that it requires All who seek help to present themselves to a triage desk to a nurse in order to get into the line up. Last week Brian Sinclair a homeless Man whose speech impediment meant he was hard to understand died of a bladder infection after sitting 34 hours in his wheelchair in the or waiting room at Hsc. His Catheter was blocked and or. Sinclair described As a quiet fellow did not wheel himself Over to the nurses desk to get into the system. He in fact was noticed by some staff but he took his place in the waiting room where he could have been invisible to nurses at their stations. The design of the or at Hsc is such that people sit with their backs to the desks to watch to or they can find a Nook to curl up in. Staff at the registration or the triage desks have to work hard to see this crowd. The Warha says the chairs in the waiting room and the to will be turned around so people face the triage desk. The design of the room itself should be corrected and the Hsc is not alone in this flaw the Entrance to the or at St. Boniface general Hospital leads to a Wall people go right and then left to be triage and then out and Back Down a Hall past the Entrance to a waiting room around a Corner. The Warha is adding another layer of people in an or system that works to line people up Many for lengthy periods to see a doctor. The real problem in the system is the routine waiting which turns people into numbers and injects stress into the jobs of staff. The longer the wait the greater the Odds that something will go wrong someone will be overlooked. Finally it is hard to know precisely what fix is required at Hsc or at any or Ward in Winnipeg without knowing How Brian Sinclair fell through the cracks. The Warha is investigating the incident As both a medical error and administratively. The inquest May be months or More in the making. The Warha and the Hsc should be More responsive and accountable to the Public. The results of the investigations should be made Public As soon As they Are Complete. A 10_ oct 01 08. Ind a10 9/ 30/ 08 8 02 57 pm ;