It defies the intellect of a simple-minded person, like myself, to understand why Canadians and our government are so excited and making such a fuss about the treatment of Tibetans by the Chinese government.

We have soldiers in Afghanistan who joined the Army of Occupation sent in by our government to appease NATO and the USA on the pretext of bringing democracy and stability to the people of Afghanistan; and because we are told Afghanistan is a threat to the security of our country.

The Canadian army of occupation is, at colossal expense to the Canadian taxpayer, on a misguided and ill-conceived military mission. Our soldiers are killing innocent people and simply contributing to the violence and unrest in a country with totally different social and cultural values to Canada’s. Shame on Mr. Harper and his accomplices for dishonouring the image of Canada as a peace-loving, multi-cultural and stable democracy. Our government is no less guilty than the Chinese government of military aggression against and repression of peoples of another sovereign country.

Meanwhile on the streets of our own cities, gun-toting criminals are terrorizing and killing innocent people, while the law enforcement system is unable (or unwilling?) to take a firm hand to restore security and make our country a safer one to live in.

Are we guilty of double standards or does our government have a case of the ostrich syndrome — its head in the sand?

Hugh Reynolds,
Dorset