.fired by a police officer.I have a m

ey like to believe: the fact is, winters in Toronto, little black dresses if not Ontario, aren t nearly what they used to be.Score one for global warming.This year, in particular, winter never arrived.If there was a qualifying round for winters, this one wouldn t make the first cut.But Canadians like their hardy image, so the milder the winter gets, the more determined they become to treat what s left with maximum alarm.Stock up the fridge, split some firewood, get some sandbags for the levee.Well get some anyway: we can build a trap and practice our sand wedge!I haven t decided which theory I prefer, though I suspect it s a bit of each.Mostly I think it s the drama.Something about the interconnectedness of society that technology has wrought the global village that Marshall McLuhan has elevated the public need to turn life into theatre.And the weather can be dramatic, even if it s usually somewhere else.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are really getting dolled up for the first anniversary of their royal wedding.maker of Barbie dolls, said this week it will release a special two-doll set in April to mark the one-year anniversary of Prince William and Kate Middleton s wedding at Westminster Abbey.The figures, part of Mattel s Barbie Collector series, will come dressed up in outfits duplicating those the couple wore in a ceremony that was viewed by an estimated 3 billion people worldwide.RelatedJonathan Kay: Our (literally) infantile obsession with the silly monarchyKate Middleton’s 30th birthday ‘low-key and private’For William, that means a pint-sized version of his red Irish Guards plus size party cocktail dresses outfit with a bright blue sash.For Kate, that means a miniature of the traditional white dress and veil she wore, as well as a teeny-tiny tiara just like the diamond-studded original she borrowed from Queen Elizabeth.The royal couple joins others in Mattel s Barbie Collector, including country singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, as well as TV stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.Re: All Hail The Queen, Conrad Black, Feb.It is difficult to argue against the longevity, excellent service and unifying presence of Queen Elizabeth II.But in our praise of her excellent reign, we must be cognizant of her misjudgment pertaining to her son Princes Charles’ love interests.The Queen broke Charles’ heart in the 1970s by rejecting Camilla Parker as his potential wife.This resulted in Charles marrying Princess Diana, a woman he later professed to have never loved, in order to produce heirs to the throne.So as we rightly celebrate Elizabeth’s momentous reign in this her 60th special year, we need to balance our recognition with the reality that her majesty’s judgment was not always outstanding.Long live the Queen.Chris Topple, Oshawa, Ont.A fitting tribute to a woman who has been a pillar of strength and a model of dignified behaviour.The problem is that once Queen Elizabeth goes, we are left with King Charles.I don’t want his face on my money.I hope she reigns until she’s 110.William Mathews, Newmarket, Ont.The only thing that Conrad Black and Queen Elizabeth II have in common is that both are in prison.The Queen is trapped in cheap plus size cocktail dresses the prison of monarchy, not by her own choice, but by birth.Black is in prison by his own making.Some of us are prisoners, some of us are guards.Douglas Cornish, Ottawa.or maybe notThe upcoming Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II reminds me of her Silver Jubilee in 1977.I was living with my family in South Wales, and we were invited to attend the street party to be held on June 7, the same day as the jubilee procession through the streets of London.As a fervent anti-monarchist I declined, but this left the question of what to do that day.We decided to go for a drive and happened to call on my second cousin, long-time communist head of the National Union of Mineworkers.And what was he doing in a room lined with books by Marx, Engels and the like?He was watching the jubilee procession on TV.Since my kids missed out on the street party, I got together with some people in town to organize a bus trip to the Welsh Folk Museum.Ironically, one of my co-organizers was the mother of the fellow who designed Princess Diana’s wedding dress in 1981, and she was quoted at the time saying how proud she was of her son.Yes, the Welsh people, like Canadians, are ambivalent about the monarchy.Conrad Black obviously is not, but then as a Baron he has a vested interest.Myself, no matter how admirably Elizabeth has performed over the last 60 years, I would like nothing better than to see both Britain and Canada declared cocktail dresses plus size republics.Monarchy on the scale of Windsor has no place in a modern society.Alun Hughes, Thorold, Ont.Cut Coyne’s payRe: Won’t Compete?Don’t Complain, Andrew Coyne, Feb.So, Andrew Coyne thinks a 50% pay cut and loss of benefits to work for a highly profitable company like Caterpillar in London, Ont.I trust the the National Post’s payroll department will be notified of Mr.David Prichard, Yellowknife.Mentally ill deserve betterRe: ‘Excessive’ Use Of Force In Death: Police Shooting, Feb.fired by a police officer.I have a mental illness.I come from a family with mental illness.I am appalled at the way we treat those in the middle of a mental health crisis.I wrote, produced and narrated The Many Voices of Mental Illness for my local radio station.I interviewed an officer from Guelph, Ont.who told me that there is mention of apprehending those with mental illness during the course of becoming an officer.Based on what happened in Toronto and previously at the airport, I am guessing that not enough police know how to deal with the mentally ill.In the 1990s I was at Baycrest (a research and education hospital in Toronto) where I learned its protocol for people who had survived the Holocaust and were in a crisis; similar to someone going through a mental health crisis.The caregivers are taught to stand in front of the person, hands clearly visible and to talk calmly.We don’t need to reinvent the wheel in the police force.We need to demand that