My published comments on newspaper articles (Part II)

Various newspapers around the world invite their readers to submit their views for publication on the various articles they publish. What follows are ten submissions of hundreds of mine that were published. I will quote in part some of what was published by THE TORONTO STAR and then give you my published comments typed in bold.

Pit bull supporters aren't feeling overly optimistic that the Ontario Court of Appeal will overturn a provincial ban on the breed. The law currently bans ownership of purebred Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers, but lawyer Clayton Ruby said the legislation still contains vague language that prevents people from owning non-purebred dogs with substantially similar appearances and physical characteristics.

Ban all dangerous dogs

I would rather see all dangerous dogs put down than have society put at risk. I have no sympathy at all for those people who cry the blues saying that society is cruel by not allowing them keep their dangerous pets. Why can't they simply keep friendly dogs as their pets or even cats for that matter?

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Wednesday, September 17, 2008


Feeling old is one thing. "But acting old – wholeheartedly adopting the lifestyle and mannerisms of a man a generation or more older – is something different. It's a choice, and for a man who has 50 or 60 years of life left, it's a pathology."

Being 75 doesn't make me think as if I am old

Admittedly, I don't climb in the Alps anymore and I can't run fast anymore but my mind is still as quick as when I was a young man. I retired from practicing law when I was 74 and now at 75, I am a counselor at a detention centre. I believe that we are as old or as young in mind as we want to be. I want to think in the same way as I was when I was in my thirties and that is probably what keeps my mind fit.

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Saturday, September 20, 2008



Tanned, dirty and hungry, two men who spent three months crossing the Pacific on a raft made of plastic bottles to raise awareness of ocean debris finally stepped onto dry land.

They deserve all the praise they can get.

I really admire people like those named in this story for their courage and willingness to risk death to prove points. Some people will say it is stupid, especially if people like those in the story perish during their trips. We can learn from their experiences because sometime in our own lives, we may find ourselves somewhere in an ocean with a small boat or raft to cling too because our plane has crashed or because our ship has sunk. From the experiences we have learned from others, we might survive. Meanwhile, I hope those in this story survive their adventures.

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Friday, August 29 2008



Canadian Brigadier General Thompson, the Canadian commander in Afghanistan, said. “Our soldiers believe in this mission. They know what this is all about. At the end of the day the Taliban are against things, they're not for anything. They're against human rights, they're against education, they're against health care, they're against women - they're just against human decency. So if we leave these people, if we leave the population of Kandahar province in the hands of the Taliban we just won't be performing our duty and our soldiers know that."

We must keep up the fight

Canada's armed forces in Afghanistan is vital not only to that country but to Canada as well. Much of the heroin brought into Canada comes from that country. What we should be doing is helping the farmers of that country find an alternative crop to grow in their farms. It must be kept in mind that the terrorists derive much of their income to buy arms from the sale of heroin in that country. Canadian forces along with the armed forces of other countries must help fix this problem.

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Monday September 1, 2008


Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility announced last month that they will charge cell phone customers not covered by calling plans 15 cents for each incoming text message.

It would have been a breach of contract

Trust the large companies to breach their contracts with their customers. The only way you could avoid paying the text-receiving calls would be to turn off your cell phone. But then that would create even a greater problem since no one could communicate with others who have cell phones. The proposals of those two communications giants was no different than if gas stations charged you extra money for driving onto their property to buy gas.

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Saturday, August 09, 2008


China is trumpeting the Paralympics as a way to improve awareness and better integrate its more than 83 million disabled citizens, almost a million of whom live in Beijing. But the reality is that China's disabled are largely invisible, dissuaded from going out in public by a lack of physical access, a deficit of jobs and routine discrimination.

China is still a backward country

Impressive buildings, manufacturing successes and power sources do not make a nation modern. Modernization includes human rights and consideration and care for the disabled, both physically and mentally. It also includes justice and health care for all. Until China brings all of this to its citizens, it is still a backward nation.

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Monday, September 08, 2008


Two Toronto councilors want taxpayers to pick up almost $100,000 in legal fees they incurred fighting complaints about their election campaign expenses in 2006.

Citizen who demands investigation should pay

I think the citizens who demand investigations into the accounts of city counselors should pay the counselor's legal costs if it is determined that the counselors did no wrong. If the citizen doesn't have the money, then the city should pay the legal fees and go after the citizen. Later if the citizen doesn't pay the fees incurred by the counselor, that citizen should be prohibited from demanding any more investigations.

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Thursday, August 28 2008



As the province prepares to add restrictions to young drivers, the widow of a trucker killed in a street racing crash has launched a safety campaign that will encourage motorists to call police when they spot aggressive drivers.

Cops don’t respond

Street racers who cause deaths to innocent motorists or pedestrians should automatically be sent to prison for a long time. Sentencing them to house arrest for two years while their victims are in their graves is outrageous. Further, I don't think calling the police while witnessing street racing or other forms of dangerous driving really works. I called the police a number of times while witnessing dangerous drivers and not once did they come onto the scene even though I was following these drivers for more than half an hour. Recently, I saw a woman speed up and go through a red light and later when I asked her why she did that, she said that she went through the red light because I wouldn't let her get ahead of me. I immediately went to the police and gave them the information. I said I would go to court as a witness. She wasn't charged with anything even though I witnessed her speeding through a red light. So much for police cooperation.

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Friday, September 12, 2008


The devastated brother of a man shot and killed by RCMP on a northern Saskatchewan reserve has asked Mounties to be pallbearers so they can "finish the job and take him to his grave."

Proposal interesting but not for me

If I was shot by the police and the shooting was unwarranted, I would rather have my friends carry me to my grave rather than the cops who shot me. I do however appreciate the irony of the proposal. Personally, I would rather have the cops faced with the problem of having to dig my grave with short-handed shovels. Now that would be irony that would be enjoyed by all my friends.

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Friday, September 05, 2008


Peter Jemley is unique among the growing ranks of war resisters who have sought refuge in Canada. He wants Canada to accept him as a refugee because he's opposed to torture. Jemley argues that as one of only a small number of Arabic linguists with top security clearance, he could be forced to violate international law by participating in the interrogations of terrorism suspects.

Send the deserter back to the United States

I don't like the idea that this man volunteered to get language skills training for free and then says that he didn't know at that time that he may be called upon to ask questions of suspects while they are being tortured. Admittedly, I accept the premise that he is right in objecting to being used in that manner but to complain after he has taken the course; is gross. If we permit him to stay in Canada, he will reap the benefit of his training in the U.S. on his language skills at the expense of the country that trained him. My message to him is: "Go back and face the music and also pay for the training you got."

Posted by Dahn Batchelor on Sunday, September 07, 2008