Letters to the Editor: O Canada

Re: "Jail Baiter" by Nina Shapiro (May 28)

These two guys don't sound like sociopaths at all. They sound like stupid male teenagers, masking their grief with rebellion and mind-numbing media after a tragic event. The issue in this story isn't even so much about who these guys are as how the process which resulted in their incarceration is flawed and unconstitutional. Just because someone's an asshole, it doesn't make them a murderer. To the contrary, I hear that Ted Bundy was a very pleasant man, when he wasn't raping and killing you. —Angie

I assume the point here was to recap an old story, not advance it; the she said/he said stuff goes unchallenged for the most part, and leaves the reader unable to render a reasoned judgment of whether or not the two didn't get a fair trial and thus are not guilty (not to be confused with innocent, meaning they actually didn't do it). Little is said about the duo's fleeing to Canada and fighting extradition, not the stuff of innocent men. Detailing and at least attempting to resolve these and other loose ends could have gone a long way toward showing whether or not the sister and supporters have a legit claim, or are merely attempting to retry the case in public without having to present all the evidence themselves.—JPierce

I realize that one cannot see me as unbiased since I represent the pair for an innocence project, but one statement of Mr. Pierce's needs to be corrected. The idea that Rafay and Burns "fled" to Canada was put out by the police and the media as evidence of their guilt, in the same way that watching films in a motel somehow made them cold-blooded murderers. Burns lived in West Vancouver; Rafay had no family left and his relatives (and he himself) are Canadians. They were cleared to leave the country because no evidence was found to implicate them. The fact that they went back to Canada, then, is not an indication of guilt.

Fighting extradition is a sign of neither guilt nor innocence, especially if you believe that a case has been fabricated against you. However, in this case, the fight was against facing execution. The top lawyers in Canada argued that it was a violation of a Canadian's Charter Rights to be extradited for the death penalty. They won the landmark case as much for other Canadians as for Burns and Rafay. —Ken Klonsky

Re: "Black Rushin'" by Nicolae White (May 28)

What a great article/story!!! I, too, felt the shame and alienation of being a Rush fan (though I am a Cleveland, Ohio, white boy). Many of my compatriots shunned me due to my adoration (they said obsession) with Rush. My parents just shook their heads. My sorrow and isolation were alleviated when I fell in with kindred spirits—musicians who really understood the band. My grades improved, my acne cleared up, and I could maintain a decent conversation with girls (a date, though, was a bit too much to ask, as they were mostly interested in Journey or Boston—something about that high-pitched-voiced singer appealed to them). Then came college. Ah, the fond memories of discussing 2112 in English Literature (even though I had to explain—repeatedly—to the professor that the band was Canadian). The hipster chicks even liked them, too! I was in heaven! My long years of suffering paid off!

Take care, my friend. I welcome you to the fold. As the master says, "Turn on the music and smile, get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times"!—BurgerLawFirm

What a great and funny piece of writing! I've seen Rush in concert no fewer than five times, most recently last year at White River.Props to Peart! Alex is Awesome! Geddy is God!—Steve Elliott

Is there some sort of Rush re-appreciation movement in the breeze? I was in a hipster cinema in PDX a few weeks ago; the intercom was playing "Permanent Waves." And it seemed to be done without a trace of irony....—Black Chameleon

Re: "Up from the Galley" by John Longenbaugh (May 28)

Christian is one of the great artists of our time! Thanks much for this terrific profile and providing an opportunity for more folks to understand and appreciate his contributions to our cultural life.—Donovan Gray

Re: "Woe, Canada" by Mark D. Fefer in the Weekly Wire (May 28)

The author of this article is an ethnocentric culturally biased individual.—Owen

Only an idiot would write that story without actually doing some research. Canada has played Brazil 3 times, 2 ties and a loss. So what is the Americans' record against Brazil? 12 wins and 1 loss.— Rob

Haha. We are GODS with universal health care. America can't even score against England, who, by the way, have a Canadian on their team to help them. But we scored twice against Brazil in a sport we don't even care about!—Gawain Harding

And you wonder why people hate the Yanks?