Dear Editor,

I think this is such a true story that cuts across many parts of Africa if not all. Reading this you just have to replace the names and it’s a scene set in any other African country. If women or girls can sit back and look at it from a distance the can find some part of them in this story.

I commend you and would like to reiterate the fact that young girls need to achieve for themselves as our mothers did in their own way, so that the next generation can be totally liberated from this so-called “sugar daddies”. Thanks and keep it up. Until people write about these things and bring it to the open no change will take place and exploitation will prevail.

Cucu Monju
UK

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Dear Editor,

Thanks for this alert to America, even though I think very few Americans, mostly Christians, realize how serious this is. I believe today is the day of the federal court hearing in Baltimore for Russ Tice, a friend of mine. Please do a story on this hearing as soon as it is known. Sibel Edmonds and other government employee whistleblowers will be at that hearing. I only wish I could be there.

Aloha,

Bill Russell
NSWBC member
Retired whistleblower from NSA
Kaneohe, Hawaii

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Dear Editor,

Reporters like Paul Weinberg perpetuate the myth that Ontario is Canada. The truth would be better stated if the headline read Detroit sneezes and Ontario gets pneumonia. Auto parts and the assembly of American automobiles has little if any effect outside of Ontario, Paul.

Jim Phelps
Calgary, Alberta

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Dear sir,

Greetings from Jyotirmayee Mahila Samiti, Orissa, India, a women-based organisation working 25 years for the empowerment of rural women.

My personal opinion is that in the field of agriculture, those women are working as labourers, their income is the same over the last 5 years and they are getting work for 2 months out of the year. Though we are helping them through self-help groups, more funds are needed for capacity building, market networking, entrepreneurship development, organising federation and more revolving funds with no interest to raise their income.

Yours sincerely,

L.Das
Secretary
India

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Hello Editor,

After reading this article, the first thing I thought of was the enormous threat to coastal waters around the world by the millions and millions of gallons of liquid hog manure which make their way to the oceans, also untreated! To say nothing of the tons of waste from the acres of feedlots and poultry factories as well.

Factory ‘farms’ are destroying our countryside, including rivers and lakes. A Canadian example: Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba - dying from phosphorus overload, much of it coming from the increasing deluge of toxic hog manure draining off the land into its rivers. This then makes its way to Hudson Bay and the ocean. There are thousands of other examples, too numerous to list.

Please share this information with your friends, family and co-workers around the world. People have to know what’s going on with their environment, food and health. And, the outlook for their children’s and grandchildren’s futures!

Thank you for your time,

Elaine Hughes
Stop the Hogs Coalition (www.stopthehogs.com)
Archerwill, SK
CANADA

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Dear Editor,

I note in your article of August 23, 2005, that the Irish govt. is reported as supporting DKT International.

If that allegation is true the Irish Anti-Trafficking Coalition will lobby the honourable members of Dáil Eireann to ensure that any funding is withdrawn at the earliest possible moment. When the Irish Minister for Justice addressed Seanad Eireann 3 April 2003, on the phenomena of prostitution, he cautioned that there is never likely to be a trade in women which is not dominated by organised crime. The representatives in Dáil Eireann will be asked to guarantee that aid is withheld from pro-prostitution networks. If an organisation is unable to explicitly oppose prostitution and sex trafficking it has no right to ask for Irish foreign aid.

Respectfully submitted,

Gregory Carlin
Director
Irish Anti-Trafficking Coalition
Belfast
Northern Ireland

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Dear Editor,

As a retired employee of Wal-Mart, I am not surprised at their audacity in building new, larger stores in culturally diverse areas. This company is so arrogant that it thinks it can build anywhere it decides a store is needed, paying no heed to local customs. I agree with Trujillo and hope he and his group are successful in deterring Wal-Mart’s plans.

M. Vross

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Dear Editor,

Thank you for your very interesting article. I worked in Namibia on my PhD thesis in 2001/2002 looking at gender responsive approaches to natural resource management. Even then, there were many cases that I came across where women had been left destitute by discriminatory inheritance laws. As mentioned in your article, the key problem is that many women are not aware of their rights as emphasised in the constitution and the new marriage acts and communal bill.

I also found that divorced women had much of their property confiscated and this is another issue that the law has to address.

With best wishes,

Julie Newton
Research Officer
Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD)
ESRC Research Group
University of Bath
UK

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Dear Editor,

To talk in the cryptic manner of Mr. Rumsfeld: “what is most surprising about the results of the American intervention in Iraq is that everybody seems to be surprised by the results of that intervention.” Anybody with a limited knowledge of Iraq or any of its neighbouring country knew what would result from the war. What is galling is the salaries earned by the supposed expert top civil servants around Bush (Wolfowitz, Pearl, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc.) and the money paid by the taxpayers to achieve where the poor Iraqis are today.

Elise Proux
France

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To whom it may concern,

I am a 61-year-old former student at St. Michael’s Residential School at Alert Bay, British Colombia. I don’t agree with the further use of this old facility for anything. I believe that this building should be torn down and a new facility built for use of language restoration.

I don’t just believe this for myself but for the First Nations people on this Island. All it has done is to serve a reminder of the many abuses that took place there over the years. Thank you for your attention.

Alan Morris Haldane
Former student

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Dear Editor,

Fascinating and very inspiring story! I myself have been looking for a social art project to participate in Brazil. I am a graduate in architecture and Spanish and Portuguese studies, and I have much experience and passion for social work, especially in the arts. I am also a strong believer of the power of transformation through art as well as through the organization of public space.

Once again, I thank you for the inspiring example of Art and Life.

Thank you,
Marysia Miernowska

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Dear Editor,

Not as easy as you put it in your editorial “Has the Tipping Point…”. If the U.S. withdraws troops by 2006, time is on the side of the coalition of Iraq Shiites that allies with the Iranian fundamentalist Shiites. And, if that happens, we will see a bloody civil war that no one can win…with the Republican right wing using the exit as the “liberal” answer forced upon them and to blame for the carnage. The only answer that will benefit both the peoples in Iraq and Americans will be the one proposed by Peter W. Galbraith in “Iraq: Bush’s Islamic Republic”, printed in the New York Book Review, August 11: a federated state, “in which each of Iraq’s communities governs itself, and is capable of defending itself.” Issues such as religion, women’s rights, ownership of oil, regional militaries could be worked out practically. This will take a lot of monitoring on the part of this nation and the UN, and troops for protecting and disarming. It will take the cooperation of Iran as well and other Arab countries.

Dorcas Tokes
Los Angeles
U.S.

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Editors,

The Pagans have a good point and I would probably stand with them. A nation should provide the chance for school and work for good jobs and more good families and strong children. The Catholics want that too but the State can or should be secular to accommodate the many ideas and feelings of their people. Certainly religions have influenced the majority… The more I read, the more it looks like tribal survival; numbers and land ratio. It disturbs me that the middle class is shrinking in America, that they are under economic “attack” by globalist economic forces. Show me a good religious nation that is also a good economic nation. The Muslims have too many sects. Religion does not unite them. Christians kill other Christians who are Protestants. People are political animals with human brains and souls (I hope). They usually love their own kind, first, and after their needs are met, other tribes, if they are not at war. That’s how nations were evolved but there are elements in big religion and business that see just so many souls to save and dollars to collect, they actually could not care less about who you are or what you believe in for they have all the power in their hands…

To be blunt, there are many “citizens” among us who would relish overthrowing us and take what we have, so why can’t other countries develop a middle class like the West’s. Do we blame the wrong religion or the wrong leaders or is it our leaders? Must the West give up everything so the others can be happy? Is it a requirement in economics taught in Western colleges, that the West must significantly devolve to balance some globalist’s plans for what, God’s plan for world peace?

Robert Periano

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Dear Ranjit Devraj,

Such pro-poor policy is indeed great news and I hope India’s poor will not be deceived. Your mention of corruption was clear yet there is confusion as to Dreze’s comments on the empowering of panchayats. Aren’t “they” at the crux of decentralized corruption and inequitable wealth distribution in rural areas? If they are involved in the implementation, national media will surely show happy faces but I hope real stories will be published too, by IPS maybe?

Thanks for great reporting,

Olivier Mills
Water & Development Research

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Dear Editor,

I read Rosamond Carr’s book “Land of a Thousand Hills” several years ago and was so inspired by her courage and love. Earlier this summer, I baked cookies which I sold at my office and I raised several hundred dollars. The money was donated to the Children’s Hunger Relief Fund for the benefit of Imbabazi Orphanage. I have wanted to come to Rwanda for some time, and am finally planning my trip there for next summer. I would very much like to be able to meet Mrs. Carr and see the orphanage while I am there.

I enjoyed reading your article and am pleased by the attention that the movie and other press have brought to the orphanage. I hope that the financial benefits have been substantial!

Kristan England
Los Angeles, CA
U.S.

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Dear Mr. Suri

I was surprise to read your article in the Singapore-based TODAY newspaper under the title, “Palestinians starve as Israelis get cash”, dated 24 August.

To begin with, I would like to suggest that if you will find one “starving Palestinian” or even a person who is close to starving, I would be very much interested to know about him. The presentation of the Jewish settlers as ones who get “comfortable compensations” is also a misrepresentation of reality. Nothing is comfortable for people who are being forced to leave their homes after 30 years. And this, without respect to the political context. The whole attempt in this article to describe reality as if Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip, creates a problem to the Palestinians, is again a distortion of the actual events.

I would like, with your permission, to mention the following:

The Disengagement Plan is an initiative of the Israeli government whose aim is to stop the political stalemate in the region and to reduce violence and friction between the Israelis and Palestinians.

But beyond this, Israel has initiated the disengagement plan because it does not wish to rule over the Palestinians. Until the end of this year, there will be no Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip.

It is now time for the Palestinians to take their own fate in their hands and to assume responsibility for the future of their children. The traditional habit of blaming Israel for all difficulties, instead of challenging them, will lead us to nowhere. Therefore, to describe current reality with words like in your headline, “Palestinians starve as Israelis get cash”, is unfortunately, far away from describing current events in the region.

Yours sincerely,

Ilan Ben-Dov
Ambassador-designate
Embassy of Israel
Singapore

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Dear Sir,

Thank you once again for an excellent, well balanced article - this time on the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park initiative which is a marvellous concept but faces numerous challenges, worst of all from Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou National Park where serious problems exist with settlers, poaching, etc.

It is most important that these issues are publicised. If you could see the HIDEOUS pictures of poaching in Zimbabwe - in fact I’ll attach two - you’ll realise that those who suffer most in all of this are the animals which die drawn out and terrible deaths.

We have put together a CD (photos and brief captions) on the wildlife/environmental crisis in Zimbabwe and could send it to your journalist, Stephan Hofsatter, if you could supply his details. It would make powerful story and needs to be exposed. If the environmental destruction on all fronts is not stopped in Zimbabwe, it will be catastrophic for the country. Already there are areas where damage caused by gold panning, sheet erosion due to the deforestation etc is irreversible.

I have a substantial amount of information and people who could be contacted on all aspects of the Zimbabwean crisis. I am now working on it on a virtually full-time basis.

Sincere thanks for your support

Glyn Hunter
Glyn Hunter International

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Dear Editor,

I think you should withdraw from Miss Tourism and compete in Miss Universe or Miss International, I would suggest Miss World but they are having that pageant in China, you deserve Miss Tibet without China.

Regards,

Ahmed Kadret
Executive Producer of MISS IRAQ Pageant

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Dear Editor,

Inspirational piece indeed! The sugar daddy syndrome is not unique to Swaziland but a common sight all over. I am a South African young woman and am definitely inpired by Angela’s success!

Lindiwe Zwane

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Marwaan,

This is an excellent commentary.

Kalinga

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To the editor:

I’d say that making women tools of men for physical and political purposes pretty much describes what quite a few of the religious fundamentalists (Christian) in the US want. Thus, I anticipate resistance to the passage of or efforts to substantially modify (in committee?) the Violence Against Women Act.

I wondered if there are provisions in this act that also protect older people against elder abuse. Or is that an issue restricted to state legislation? If there are provisions in the act that deal with elder abuse, perhaps that should’ve been mentioned given the predictions that the % of over 65s in the US will grow substantially in the next 10 years- who knows, even people who use ever increasing amounts of Botox and cosmetic surgery to ’stay young’ might want to act to protect their future selves.

What about Title XIX? I understood the Bushies continued to try to destroy this statute (although why they resent women getting equal opportunity to play sports I don’t know, perhaps it has to do with the above–their desire to use and abuse women physically).

S. Hogg
Newport OR
U.S.

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Dear Qurratul Ain Tahmina,

I read your article n i must say that it was quite impressive but 1 thing which i felt was missing in the article is the Children who r suffering from HIV…R they also part of Durjoy….r they been taken care…? n is no other NGO’s coming forward for the cause?

Best Regards,

Shitiz Malik

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Morning IPS,

Let the “World Court” decide whether they are guilty or not. Let justice be done.

B.M. Phillips
St. Catharines,Ontario
Canada

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Dear Editor,

It is indeed a real pity that the Indonesian soldiers mutiliated the indigenous people of Papua. I am sure nthere must be a hidden agenda. If the Govt of Indonesia is serious about fairplay and democracy they will taken severe action against the perpetrators for real justice must prevail- not some charade.

Dato’ A. Nelson
Kuala Lumpur

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Dear Editor,

Great article - supports our own findings in supporting work with Dalits across India. I work for a British NGO the Karuna trust - we just visited villages in Nagapatinam district and found a picture of Dalits missing out on aid as you report. We are funding a hostel for Dalit kids. I attach our own report …

Best of luck with your work and reporting - it is so important these issues continue to come to the forefront.

Dryan Kitchener
Karuna Trust

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Dear Editor,

If they can do it to them, they can do it to everyone who criticises the government.

Heinz Hoeke

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Dear Editors,

I think Wilson’s report was given to Cheney, but he ignored them. I think our first order of business in unravelling this mess is finding out who created the forged yellowcake documents.

Since Bolton was the person who reportedly first received them, I’d say he and Cheney were the ones who thought of creating fake documents, etc. and this is why Dubya is so intent on Bolton’s nomination. Dubya’s dying to push the big button, just because he can, and he needs someone who sees nukes under every bed or who is willing to pretend he sees them where they do not exist. And then, there’s what did Italy get out of their part in this fiasco? A big oil deal, perhaps? Anyone know why Novak is not on any hook over his outing column?

At this point, I am in favour of amending the Constitution to eliminate the provision for recess appointments. After all, that provision was for a time when our government representatives were unpaid and had to have a day job, so they spent most of their time at home, before the horseless carriage, trains, planes, phones and e-mails. There is no need for a provision that permits the president to thumb its nose at the Senate, and I do mean ‘its’ nose.

Kathleen Grasso Andersen

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Dear Editor,

Actually, I saw Lobe’s piece today on commondreams.org. Until you folks gather the courage to question the official story of 911 and the totally foolish 911 Commission, nothing will happen. I think you folks know exactly what I am talking about. As yet, no news outlet in the USA will report it.
Why is that? These are no longer conspiracy theories, they are fact.

MW

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Dear Editor,

So many people who should know better, say something to the effect: “He lived in England for three years so he should have spoken good English.”
Rubbish. You try living and working in non-English speaking country and see how good you are in the language of your host country. Of course knowing your life depended on your language skills would provide significant motivation. Try living in Japan for three years and see how fluent you are.
If it came to the crunch I dare say you’d wind up as dead as Mr. de Menezes. Besides, listening comprehension was the skill he needed.
Reminds me of the Japanese student shot dead in the United States because he didn’t understand the significance of the command “Freeze”. Bad case of cultural imperialism.

Sincerely,
Andrew Milner

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Dear Editor,

Outstanding! Why is this not a bigger news story? The US press has become a golem.

Guy Kaminski

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