OPINIONS I dearly wanted to touch on the state of suspense surrounding Insite this week, and the more I looked into it, the more black and white the issue became. Having recently followed the progress of Insite, the 5 safe injection clinic in bats tie Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, it dawned on me how the controversy around it has changed since its first year of operation. Little was said from Steven Harper in recent months leading to spec- ulation that the progres- sive conservatives were reluctant to allow the project to continue. Insite has been rec- ommended by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the BC Nurses Union to continue running for another three years. On Friday September 15¢, Federal Health Minister ony Clement extended operation of Insite for another 16 months. Health Canada exempted Insite from Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act. This is to allow for further esearch on the impact Insite is having on crime, prevention and treatment. In the meantime owever, applications for new safe injection sites are not welcome until Insite’s next decision ay of Dec. 31, 2007. As for Harper’s Conservatives and their choice to defer the decision, it was the right choice iven limited flexibility atop the minority government. The Federal government has offered nothing in the way of alternatives, and with the Olympics on the way, they expect them to do as little as possible to get in the way of Vancouver’s preparation. As well, the plethora of reseatch results that have been published in leading medical journals worldwide provides a nice opt-out for arguments towards making the choice. Insite, along with the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS is considered a leading inno- vator by other cities befallen with similar challenges. Since Insite opened in 2003, the controversy around the clinic has changed, at least from a West Coast perspective. Instead of a morality issue with questions about crime and the attrac- tion to new users, the debate became an East versus West waiting game. Studies done in partnership with the clinic proved it has minimized the spread of HIV, and prevented a significant number of overdoses. Both of these results ease the stress on our health care system, and are pure examples of integrating prevention into healthcare. As Canada rolls on into the 218t Century, our medical system is still years away from the long overdue medical revolution when health and prevention are a part of our medical system and not just recommended in trendy magazines. The studies also found there is less drug related litter (the always attractive used syringe), and that crime rates haven’t changed any since it opened. Even if Insite’s results continue to prove beneficial to the community, why is it in question? When members of the community drove through East Hastings wearing blinkers for the last twenty years, they accepted the area for what it had become. Now the city is quietly letting the natural progression of urban renewal take place, knowing that by ignoring the inhabitants of this historic area as they will soon be someone else’s problem. At the current rate, developers will continue encroaching the Downtown Eastside one building at a time, phasing out even more of the low income residential housing. If in ten to fifteen years the drug problem isn’t minimized, it will merely have dispersed into other regions of the city. (Possibly the same areas inhabited by recently graduated Douglas College students.) Realistically, how long does Insite have to make a difference? My fear as a believer that Insite is a step in the right direction, is that the city and the feder- al government see it only as calming effect to the area, a temporary solution while developers systematically remove all but a few of the area’s low income buildings. It is highly unlikely that Insite, if it continues to operate, will ever move. Renovation costs alone were $1.2 million, and beyond that, it is further unlikely that another community is going to allow a new safe injection site into the area to counter for displaced citizens from the down- town eastside. Insite was never intended to clean up the eastside, and it’s not the answer to ending the drug problems so deeply rooted in the area. But it isn’t right to think that Insite is going to perpetuate intravenous drug use in the area. Its seldom mentioned but much recognized that the problem cannot be moved, and must be phased out over time. This is why the clinic is such an important first step, not only for now but for the future. September 11th is not a closed book Jeff Hammersmark, OP Contributor It’s hard to believe that five years have passed since that horrific New York morning when housands lost their lives in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Undoubtedly, the media will elebrate this anniversary by showing us, over and over again, footage of the sickening events nat took place that day. And for that day we will mourn, and the next we will return to our egular routines, thinking nothing more of exploding jetliners, collapsing towers, or the events of 9/11. Indeed, the majority of people, especially in the United States, have accepted the offi- ial story of 9/11 as true. But the majority doesn’t constitute the entirety. A quickly growing and increasingly organized group of people has a different idea than ost about what happened in New York five years ago. Calling themselves “The Truth fovement,” these people believe the United States government, among others, played a sinis- er part in the 9/11 attacks. Some of them argue that the US government knew that the attacks were coming and let them happen for their own benefit. Most, however, believe that Bush and is cronies played a direct role in planning and coordinating the attacks as well as an elaborate over-up. Due to the inherent nature of conspiracy theories and those who are attracted to em, these “truthers” have not been taken seriously by most people. Regardless of how many inds the conspired theory has attracted, there will always be a select group of paranoids who blow everything out of proportion. There are some in the Truth Movement who would like you to believe that no planes crashed into the towers at all and that thermonuclear bombs were Hetonated in the basements of the towers. Needless to say these types of people repel most easonable folk from even considering their points of view, and by association, they perpetuate e unfortunate view that the Truth Movement consists of nothing more than gullible and gnorant people. Yes these people are conspiracy theorists, but there is a bullet proof reason or their existence. Conspiracy theories are common, particularly when a dramatic and far-reaching event occurs. The Moon landing and the JFK assassination are two good examples. The Moon land- g's greatest effect was on American pride, although some might say American arrogance. FK’s assassination led to great short-term confusion and panic but ultimately did not affect e average American’s life. September 1 1th on the other hand has affected men, women, and hildren not only in the United States, not only in North America, but around the world. The US Patriot Act greatly expanded their ability to spy on their own people, and Bush went a step further to authorize the use of electronic eavesdropping on US civilians even if no warrant had been obtained. 9/11 provided a pretext for war in Afghanistan, and thanks to the iopinionsubmit@hotmail.com terror-fearing public the US government created, led to the current Iraq war. Every single day people die as a direct result of American foreign policy stemming from 9/11. The vice-principal of my high school came on the P.A. system the morning of the attacks to tell us “The world will never be the same after today.” He was right on the button, and that is why the Truth Movement has to exist. September 1 1th is not a closed book, no matter what you’ve heard to the contrary. It’s possible that the official story is true, and that the conspiracy theorists are doing nothing but drawing at straws. Let me assure you, how- ever, that it’s not probable, and I would go as far as say- ing it is almost impossible. It may not have been a US government conspiracy, but it certainly didn’t happen the way we have been told it did. Don’t just take my word for it, go out and find the information. Just make sure you have your thinking cap on. If you can sort through the misinformation, the pure speculation, and the down- right ridiculous, you'll find a lot of interesting stuff. This September 11th, mourn for the innocent victims who died five years ago, but don’t forget about the inno- cent victims in Afghanistan. Don’t forget about the inno- cent victims in Iraq. Don’t forget about the soldiers, many younger than you and I, who have died in unneces- sary wars waged for questionable reasons. Ask yourself how much the United States has gained thanks to September 11th. Ask yourself how ssi the world has lost thanks to it. No, September 11th is not a closed book because when so many innocent people die, when our lives are impacted so dramatically, and when “terrorism” becomes the answer to far too many questions, that book should not be allowed to close until every single page makes sense. 15