A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, Jonvary 8, 2003
‘TERRACE. .

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

PUBLISHER: ROD LINK
ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2
TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432
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EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com

The new year

THE FIRST-WEEK score card for 2003 indi-
cates it'll continue to be a challenging time for
northwest residents.

Breadwinners, forced to re-locate because of
the economic situation here, have returned to
far-flung outposts in the northwest, in Alberta
and beyond.

Latest figures from the B.C. Assessment Au-
thority tell of continued erosion of home values
in Terrace and area. Natural gas prices went up
Jan. 1, meaning an extra strain on the wallet and
leaving people to hope the mild winter conti-
nues.

Minor federal tax reductions will deliver an
extra dollar a week or so for the average in-
come earner and employment insurance premi-
ums have been reduced. But these savings won’t
be enough to absorb an increase in Canada Pen-
sion Plan premium hikes. .

School district officials prepare for a series of
public meetings to cut expenses and raise reve-
nues, opening the door to everything from
charging parents for their children’s noon-hour
supervision to a four-day school week.

Meanwhile, the “new” Skeena and its Terrace
IWA workforce are stymied on the issue of how
many holiday weeks workers should receive in
the attempt to reach a new contract. It seems a
moot point given we’re entering the third calen-
dar year of the company’s mill here being
closed. And it doesn’t answer a key question —
even if the company had its financing in place
and new contracts, would the mill be operating
given current Jumber market conditions?

Yet there are some bright spots in this dark
time of the year. The first licensed practical
nursing student grad class from Northwest
Community College is entering the work force.
li’s a first step toward improving northern
health care and providing stable and skilled em-
ployment for northwesterners.

Prince Rupert officials are busy readying for
construction of a dock for large cruise ships and
the benefits which will then follow. More
people working in Prince Rupert means more
people from there shopping here, continuing the
solidification of Terrace as the region’s service
centre.

City plans for a downtown tourism develop-
ment zone, driven in part in hopes of attracting
some of the above-mentioned cruise traffic,
provide an outline of what is possible in terms
of new economic activity.

And 2003 marks the 75th anniversary of Ter-
race’s municipal incorporation. Organizers
from the 75th anniversary committee report
600 people turned out for a family-based New -
Year’s dance at the Skeena Mall. If for nothing
else, that says a lot about the kind of community
spirit we'll need to see us through.

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What's cooking in that kitchen?

VICTORIA — So the guy who
in 1973 was abducted by
aliens, whisked to some cave,
where he sat down to chat
with Jesus, Muhammad,
Moses and Buddha, now
claims that he created the first
human clone.

We're talking about Claude
Vorilhon, leader. of Quebec-
based Raelians, a cult that
mostly espouses what the
Pope opposes, free love
amongst it, from straight to
gay to orgy.

Last year, members of the
sect danced along St. Cather-

‘ine Street in Montreal, pro-

testing the Catholic church.

They have also handed out
condoms in front of Catholic
schools.

Pictures of that parade, fea-
turing some very nubile and
voluptuous young women, I
hepe they weren’t robots,. ap-
peared in newspapers around

_the. world. With chicks like

that, the sect probably has no
problem attracting young male
scientists.

The more long-term goal of
the Raelians, however, has al-
ways been to create a human
clone.

Vorilhon once said it was
ridiculously easy, so easy, that
a Japanese journalist could do
it in his kitchen.

Good thing he didn’t have
me in mind. I have trouble
producing something edible in
the kitchen, never mind a

FROM THE CAPITAL
HUBERT BEYER

human clone.

Earlier this week, Dr. Bri-
gitte Boisselier, who works in
Vorilhon’s lab, announced that
the sect’s main goal has been
achieved.

At a press conference, she
told reporters that they had
one week to call her a fraud.
After that, she would furnish

ures and, get ready, some vo-
juptuous robots.

When Vorilhon first went
public, he said that all human
beings were created in alien
test tubes, and he, like the
other prophets, was a supreme
type of clone.

The publicity he got in
France was so nasty that he
fled to Canada, where nut
cases are more readily accep-
ted, I suppose.

Still, I ask you to suspend
your disbelief and assume that
the Vorilhon and his good doc-
tor have, indeed, created the
first human clone.

If correct, you can expect
all hell to break loose. Chur-
ches and ethicists will weigh
in with dire warnings of a dark
and Frankensteinian future.

If you feel not bound by re-
ligious considerations or ethi-
cal ones, the matter is pretty
simple. If it has all the human

scientifically ,,.unassailable,,.,attributes, it’s probably human,

“Proof. te te pons
That’s proof of having cre-

ated a clone, not that she’s a

fraud.

Let’s for a moment assume
that she is correct, and that
does take a leap of faith.

] mean, this woman is
working for a man who says
that 29 years ago, the aliens in
their spaceship tock him to a
-hallow in France’s Clermon-
Ferrand Mountains, where he
mingled with a few dozen of
history’s most famous holy fig-

fame turns out to be fraudulent.

What I have trouble figuring
out is why on earth anyone
would want to clone himself or
herself. Sure, some horror sce-
narios come to mind, such as a
perpetual tyrant making sure he
lives on forever in the form. of
his clones. Or create the per-
fect soldier and produce an
army of his clones.

But that’s better left to pulp
fiction and grade-B movies:

Just about the only clients
for cloning that I can imagine
would be women who earnestly
and absolutely hate men and
would rather die than produce
an offspring with their help.

For most of humanity, the
regular way of making babies
will always be the preferred
method.

Whether or not Vorilhon
beat his Japanese journalist to
it, [ can’t get too worked up
over the issue.

The Pope, on the other.

ey, Atiend, of miné“insiststiat!? had’ SHIP prepably2nMoPbe?

there. is no God,'no- afterlifey--amused. For someone who’ is

just a few imponderables that
science will solve sooner or
later. Maybe this is one of
those impenderables.

I don’t consider myself
overly religious, but I prefer to
have a little insurance, just in
case.

On the other hand, I believe
that anything we can imagine
is possible. That means human
cloning will eventually be a
fact, if Vorilhon’s claim to that

against birth control, ~ the
thought of some basket case
meddling in God’s work. must
be truly revolting.

Now let’s wait whether the
Raelians have cracked. the
clone nut. My bet is they
haven’t. But that doesn’t mean
it won’t happen, sooner or tater.

Beyer can be reached at:
E-mail: hubert@coolcom.com;
Tel (250) 381-6900; Web
Altp://www.hubertbeyer.com

Dog attack a lesson for us all

RECENTLY IN Vancouver
after two mastiff/cross dogs
brutally mauled a 14 year old
girl as she walked home with
a friend along a. residential
street, Vancouver police con-
ducted a dog photo lineup so
witnesses could identify her
attackers. .

Upon hearing news of the
photo lineup, my first question
was where would police find
six or more mastiffs for their
lineup? Mastiffs are uncom-
mon, unlike German Shep-
herds, Labs or Rottweilers.

Would police e-mail every
animal shelter in B.C. hoping
several would have ai least
one mastiff impounded? In
that case, the dogs would have
to be shipped ta Vancouver for
the “tryout.”

For answers, I phoned the
Vancouver Police Depart-
ment’s public relations con-

-stable.

Hours after the mauling, ci-
tizens reported finding two
dogs roaming. The dogs fitted
the culprits’ descriptions.

THROUGH BIFOCALS'
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

Police responded, took the
two dogs into custody, drove
them to the police station, and
processed them as they would .
any other alleged criminals.

By then, though, both dogs
had groomed themselves free
of noticeable blood. A forensic
identification officer swabbed
the dogs’ feet and took DNA
blood samples. The dogs’ col-
lars were removed for evi-
dence.

on Vif THE BRIEF “\. | WECAN MAKE
Baa AND POINTLESS LIFE GLACIERS AND
gO THE SNOWFLAKE!

i
,

5)

BUT IF WE
JOIN TOGETHER:

AVALANCHES /

T HAVOC
Ae cerecrion. ;
AGENTS OF CHADS,
AND MAYHEM: _

To make sure the two dogs
atrested were indeed those
responsible for the mauling,
police arrayed half a dozen
animal shelter inmates of si-
milar size and colour, regard-
less of breed.

The fairness of such a line-
up could be argued, given that
even under the panic and
stress of fending off two sla-
vering animals intent upon in-
flicting grave damage on a de-
fenceless girl, any intervening
neighbour would no doubt have
noted what breed of dog he
was combating, whether Do-
berman, boxer, Airedale or any
other. _

My guess is rescuing neigh-
bours carry an indelible mem-
ory of the girl’s two attackers.

Then witnesses to the maul-
ing were invited to view the
dogs, each in its own cage at a
nearby animal shelter. All dogs
were collarless. And the sus-
pects, now calm despite their
alleged frenzied attack, ap-
peared as docile and innocent

WHAT GLORIOUS
FATE AWAITS US?

as the “extras.” .

Though dog lineups may
have been used by police de-
partments in other jurisdictions,
this was a first for Vancouver.

It was also unusual for po-
lice to locate the offending
dogs and be able to put them in
the back of a paddy wagon. But
in this case, arresting officers
felt it was appropriate to have
witnesses come down and view
all the dogs ta make sure po-
lice weren’t arresting dogs that
were not involved .

Given the ferocious attack
by the two mastiffs, we should
have more appreciation of the
work of our animal shelter em-
ployees. |

I wouldn’t have what it
takes to pick up stray dogs, and
then look after them in the
shelter, even if they weren’t
known to be “killers.”

This incident should also
make every dog owner realize
his pet, allowed to run free on
the street, could turn into -
someone e¢lse’s killer.

** You gor ir!
tin aa

#4,

ABUL A