Letters to the Editor
ncarey
Published Letters: 132 Editor's Choice: 27
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Dear God No
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Some of your suggestions have merit, but some of them, well, are just plain awful.
1 - footrest...not sure what you have in mind for this, but any economy footrest I've ever seen are the sort that are frequently found on buses. The ones that can't be used comfortably by anyone taller than 5'5", and that, when put away, are perfectly placed to bruise shins. Horrible idea.
2 - tray table in the armrest. I've frequently had the misfortune to sit in the front economy row on Air Canada's A320s. They have a tray table in the arm rest. The result is I lose an inch on either side, because the tray table requires that the arm rest go all the way down, instead of having space underneath where my leg can fit.
A better option for the tray table is already fairly common, at least on Boeings. The trays can be pulled several inches closer once they're lowered.
Your other suggestions have merit, and I am thankful that video on demand is becoming increasingly common. Both major airlines in Canada now offer person entertainment, and those are the ones I fly most frequently.
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Clearly, you need some wind turbines
[Read the article: Antiwar site lets you spend $3 trillion your way]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The 3 trillion goes pretty quick when you spend it on energy.
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Diversification is always a mixed blessing
[Read the article: A paltry $11 billion profit for Exxon]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That's the whole point. Diversify to see moderate success in a variety of market conditions, instead of just kicking ass in one, and then failing in all others.
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Can't really compare
[Read the article: Who pays the most for gas?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]First, in response to Herself, public transit in Turkey is fabulous. Their intercity busses are amazing...they are the gold standard to which other bus systems are compared to (generally not favourably). As for local transit, I only have personal experience with Istanbul and Antalya, and while they were nothing special, they are comparable to other systems in Europe. Elsewhere, the dolmus system is very efficient, but does have that "lower class" connotation which drives those who have the option of driving away.
Now, on the more general issue. Demand for cars is increasing in Turkey because the number of people who can afford it is increasing. Likewise in much of eastern Europe, not to mention China and India. It has nothing to do with gas prices, just incomes. Throughout the world, owning a car is still seen as a sign of success. Clearly this isn't a good thing, but gas prices can still have a positive impact.
High gas prices help to make people who own cars drive them less. I think there's a good way to go on gas prices before this starts being really noticeable, but there has to be a tipping point. Personally, I'm hoping to see prices double within the next four years.
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This is why smart people don't tie up their wealth in their employer's stock
[Read the article: No victory: Yahoo feels the heat after Microsoft walks away]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Think about it. If your savings are in your employer's stock, and your company hits hard times, you lose both your income and your savings. Diversify. If you're taking advantage of a stock purchase program, cash out as frequently as permitted.
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Need a coalition to win
[Read the article: "There's a pattern emerging here"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I find it crazy that Clinton seems to think she's got the broader coalition. They both have a couple of demographic groups in their favour. Clinton's got blue-collar whites, middle-aged women, and Hispanics. Obama's got Blacks of all classes, white-collar whites, and young people in general. Sad as it is to break down America along such strict - and racially charged - lines, there you have it.
The fact is a nominee will need votes from all these groups in the general election to win. So either would have a lot of peace-making to do. Trying to suggest that somehow Clinton's coalition is broader is patently untrue, and given that Obama's getting more votes overall (and larger inroads into Clinton's demographic groups than the other way around) it looks a lot like an outright, desperate lie.
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Oh yeah
[Read the article: "There's a pattern emerging here"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And her wording here makes it sound like she thinks that any group - notably blacks and anyone with a university education - that is favouring Obama is clearly not as important to the Democratic party as blue-collar white people. That's just pathetic.
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Depends on who you are
[Read the article: Are laptop PCs the environmentally correct choice?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The posters above are right - the average person does treat a desktop as disposable, and thus will waste more materials in disposing of their desktop.
But for those of us who are geeks, a desktop can be an ecological choice. Bits are replaced as they wear out (or become obsolete), instead of dumping the whole thing. Some parts almost never get replaced. My keyboard dates from 1995. Most other things don't last as long. I recycled a monitor from 1998 two years ago, and did buy a whole new case and motherboard at the same time, though the old one (also 1998) is still in use as a backup drive (only powered up when I need to access it). I think the bulk of the reason for this, though, is that I'm just plain cheap.
So, probably for people who are going to dispose of their computers regularly no matter what, the reduced power consumption and material use make the laptop better. But hardware nerds should clearly buy desktops. In pieces.
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Where do I get a crack pipe
[Read the article: Condoms: Sort of like crack?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I live in a Canadian city. Where can I find one of these for free?
Seriously, though. If she was referring to a real occurence (safe injection sites), the comparison may have a level of validity. In both cases, it's accepting that something you may not approve of is going to happen either way, and that the best you can hope for is harm reduction.
The main difference is that sex in and of itself isn't harmful. At least trying to stop drug use has the fundamentally good goal of protecting people from themselves, even if the methods are usually fucked up. Trying to stop people who want to have sex from going out and having some fun is not only futile, but kind of pointless. If people, teenagers or otherwise, are properly educated about risks and precautions, it's a harmless activity. Sure they might regret it later, but it'll hardly be the only moment in their teenage years they regret.