Pubdate: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 Source: Surrey Now (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc., A Canwest Company Contact: http://www.thenownewspaper.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1462 Author: Mike Harvey TRUE NORTH STRONG AND FREE FOR DRUG DEALERS TO ROAM The Editor, I listen to radio as I walk my dog. It is not the best idea as it counteracts the benefits of exercise and the tranquillity of fresh air and trees. It is, however, informative. This morning I heard the following from reliable sources. Canada continues to fall behind the United States in productivity. Ours is approximately 75 per cent of theirs and, what's more, it will continue to decline as our equipment and capacity ages. Apparently, we are not replacing and updating like they are. This situation is also apparent in our military. You can't beat our personnel but they cannot meet their responsibilities with outmoded and outdated equipment. Apart from this, they are stretched to the breaking point in numbers. We can't seem to prevent our criminals from regaining their freedom even when releasing them is deemed unsafe. The Charter of Rights, it seems, favours those dangerous people more than it does those who must live amongst them. We are free and easy with our drug dealers and, in fact, produce the finest "bud" anywhere. And, on another uplifting note, our tourist industry expects to gain millions from the flood of gay people who will take advantage of our acceptance of same-sex marriage. The final report as I headed home was the fact that our submarine is being transported back from Scotland by a freighter, because the airforce didn't have a helicopter to rush our injured airman to hospital, and our government is suspected of being run by a bunch of crooks. A happy new year, Canada. Mike Harvey Cloverdale - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin