Make deposit
Re “An elite squad of Ukrainian fighters has been battling Russian occupation on the front lines. This is the story of their war” (June 8): As Lord Moran explained in The Anatomy of Courage, even the fearless may find their courage “bank account” running low. We should all be pressing to do whatever we can to help replenish them.
Ross McKee Toronto
Stop hate
Re “Platitudes won’t roll back antisemitism” (Editorial, June 8): To combat antisemitic incidents at Jewish schools and synagogues, you demand more policing, restricting lawful protest and for universities to adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. As a Jewish person, I believe policing won’t make my community safer, nor will it address antisemitism’s root causes.
Too often, Jewish people are described as having an umbilical connection to the state of Israel, including by media, legacy Jewish institutions and the IHRA definition itself. This conflation implies that all Jews are collectively responsible for Israel’s actions, including its violent onslaught on Gaza.
To combat antisemitism, our public discourse should distinguish between Jewish people and the state of Israel.
Ben Hanff Toronto
Every year since my family moved to Waterloo, Ont., in 2014, I have seen many graffitied swastikas and antisemitic slogans in public spaces, left by the same white supremacists who persecute my Muslim neighbours.
Antisemitism, then, is part of “who we are,” but we cannot solve this problem by adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, which downplays far-right antisemitism while fuelling “the antisemitic impulse of holding Jewish-Canadians somehow culpable for Israel’s actions.”
Canada can eliminate that impulse by ceasing to conflate Jews with Israel. When Independent Jewish Voices and other progressive Jewish groups try to distinguish between criticism of Israel and antisemitism, we are accused of being antisemitic ourselves.
But we know that oppressing other victims of white supremacy will not ensure our safety.
Lauren Weinberg Co-founder, Independent Jewish Voices Waterloo Region
Social conscience
Re “ESG investors are hitting the road. Don’t blame them. The investing standards are broken and need fixing” (Report on Business, June 8): Much ado about the correct side to fall on over the war in Gaza. Universities in particular, with their protester occupations, are challenged to find the right balance.
Often missing from that discussion is the “S” in ESG. Consideration of environmental, social and governance investing is supposed to be about making the world a better, more sustainable place.
Western corporations had the moral fortitude and financial sense to pull out of Russia when it invaded Ukraine. Why would investors not want to pull out of corporations and institutions which supply the implements of war?
ESG investing should be about more than making sure enough women and visible minorities are on boards of directors and renewable energy. War is hell, and ESG investing should be sung from the rooftops instead of wallowing in obscurity.
Denis Desnoyers Ottawa
No baggage
Re “When will WestJet unveil an ‘ExtremeUltraBasic’ fare, where passengers are strapped to the wings?” (June 8): Thank you for confirming that I am not imagining things, and that the WestJet “UltraBasic” fare has little to do with cheaper alternatives and far more to do with shareholder value.
WestJet started as a passenger-focused airline with employee profit-sharing. It now seems to have successfully transitioned to full partner in the major airline duopoly. I have no doubt owner Onex will preen its financial statements and sell WestJet for a new and improved price.
Our government desperately should introduce more foreign competition or stronger oversight of Canadian airlines.
Bruce Alger Calgary
Never having flown with WestJet, I must thank you for highlighting this new “UltraBasic” category, which I look forward to trying.
Modern passengers seem to mistake an overnight bag for the kitchen sink. Without a second thought for others, they hog every available overhead bin, making fellow passengers wait as well as depriving them of their own storage space.
Boarding after everyone is seated, with the aisle clear, is an expedient pleasure, as is a checked suitcase, even for a fee. Without carry-on baggage, flights would be ready to leave sooner and, upon arrival, allow passengers to reach the terminal swiftly.
A.N. Ipekian Mississauga
Are we really expecting WestJet to respect customers? That’s gone the way of the dodo.
Opportunities abound: What about cordoning off a section in the back and letting people stand? At least with two major airlines, we still have a choice.
Karin Zabel Ottawa
Artistic theft
Re “Magical thinking: On artistic inspiration in the age of AI” (Opinion, June 8): Economically speaking, generative artificial intelligence is theft, perpetrated by enormous corporations to make obscene profit on the labour of countless poorly remunerated artists.
This neo-feudal economic model is currently playing out in every domain of our society. Such a catastrophic socioeconomic shift should be the focus of discussion, from which the questions of the artistic quality or originality of generative AI outputs are more so distractions.
Ryan Whyte Toronto
Trashed
Re “Raccoons, expanding beyond North America, are taking over the world one trash can at a time” (Opinion, June 8): So typical of people to support animals that have human-like characteristics or have been Disney-fied as cartoon characters.
Most negative characteristics are omitted or downplayed. Some people have obviously never been in a cornfield that has been marauded by a family of raccoons, or had a vegetable garden in total ruins.
There is even a good word for rats. Here in Alberta, rats have been kept at the border because of the enormous destruction they are known to incur. If our provincial government has any sense, raccoons would be on the same list as rats.
Meanwhile, we can deal with feral pigs. At least they don’t look cute nor have their own fan club.
Gerhard Henkemans Edmonton
About 30 years ago, my husband and I came home to discover that two juvenile raccoons had come in through our cat window in the basement, made their way upstairs to the kitchen, opened the fridge and proceeded to work their way through all the meals I had prepared for the following week.
Cannelloni, roast chicken and something with spinach are what I most vividly remember – spread from one end of the house to the other and smeared over walls and floors and carpets, of course.
Definitely clever little buggers.
Connie Turnbull Saint-Lazare, Que.
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