DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Children of Haitians Fight for Birth Certificates August 29th, 2007
Mr. Tejada:
Why don’t you apply the same tactics to the USA? Force the USA to stop deporting those illegal now living here in the USA. Is the job too big for you to tackle? What is good for one is good for the other. I think DR has learned from its big counterpart the USA which has over 40 millions illegal immigrants of all over the world they only deport Asian and Latin American. You don’t see those deporting Eastern Europeans or Irish that come thru the Canadian Border? If you are to do a job, do it right, or don’t do it at all. I don’t know who is paying you. Is it Canada, France, USA or both? I’m not against it but let’s be fare about it. If they want them so much why don’t they issue them visas to come to Canada, U.S., France, like Castro’s Cuba under political asylum? Haiti qualifies under those conditions. Or is it like you said colour? Since the state of Fl. Does not want them, because they are not Cubans why push them on DR. DR does not have enough jobs for themselves less for others. U.S. coast guards keeps sending them back every time they get a boatload of them but not Cubans, where they take them as heroes. Now with this factory being built to process cane for ethanol for export to the USA, more cheap labour is going to be needed from Haiti to cut cane, since Dominicans don’t cut cane. Besides the big industries which you should be after don’t pay no more than $2,00 a day for cane cutters and they are privately owned, Namely Central Romania corp. and others owned by the USA. The entire Island is going to be a sugar cane plantation, going back to the 18th century and the owners are white landowners. Is this what you want Mr Tejada?
RIGHTS-US: Abu Ghraib Justice Ends With Enlisted Soldiers August 29th, 2007
Dear Editors,
The justice didn’t end with Jordan’s dropped charges on a technicality… likely pre-programmed when he was first charged. Just the moves to bring it to those responsible have ended, by design. Jordan is apparently only considered guilty of failing to keep matters hidden and covered up so it wouldn’t go higher up the chain of command. That’s traitorous and far more important to some.
Dan Thompson
*****
Dear Editor,
Not surprisingly, justice is served only upon enlisted soldiers, while the good ‘ol boy’s fraternity of officers goes into a damage control mode to protect each other. Again the U.S. military demonstrates its hypocrisy and lack of integrity rampant amongst its officer corps.
DEVELOPMENT: Farewell to “Flush and Forget” August 26th, 2007
Dear Editors,
Excellent article. What needs to be done now is to list vendors in major cities like New York, Chicago, Tokyo, etc that sell dry toilets, and put the list on the internet so that we can get the ball rolling.
EAST TIMOR: Keeping Youth Off Political Violence August 26th, 2007
Dear Editors,
Fretilin did not claim most of the votes in the election. They emerged as the largest party, but lost their overall majority in the Parliament and were unable to persuade other parties to let them stay in power. This is not surprising given the mess they made of their first term in office - but the challenge now is for those who follow to make a better job of their first term in office. If they don’t, they too can be voted out. That is what democracy means. The challenge for East Timor of course is to deliver enough benefit for its people while at the same time building its democratic institutions. The way the result is stated in the article stokes the sense of grievance among Fretilin supporters. If democracy is to survive they need to learn to play by the rules - the key one of which is that when you lose an election you accept the result and prepare for the next one, not take to the streets and threaten to overthrow the democratic institutions.
ENVIRONMENT-US: Flying Blind Into Monster Storm Season August 26th, 2007
Dear Editors,
I’m afraid reporter Stephen Leahy is mixing apples and oranges (or federal agencies), thereby confusing your readers. Leahy implies NASA is at fault for “cancelling or delaying the launch of satellites that look back at the Earth and provide invaluable information about hurricanes, track the melting of glaciers and droughts, deforestation and much more.” To boost his claim’s credibility, Leahy quotes Judith Curry, chair of climate and remote sensing at Georgia Tech’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. “They literally removed ‘to protect Planet Earth’ from NASA’s mission statement,” Curry said in an interview. “The [George W.] Bush administration has decided going to Mars and the International Space Station is more important,” But wait! In case you missed it, it’s not NASA, but NOAA - the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration who’s responsible for operating and maintaining these weather satellites. A scientific agency of the Department of Commerce, NOAA’s stated mission is ‘’to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs.'’ In fact, National Hurricane Center director Proenza recently came under fire for criticizing his NOAA superiors for not replacing these aging satellites - a charge others have said Proenza overstated, unduly alarming the public and compromising the centre’s credibility. NASA’s mission, on the other hand, is to ‘’pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research'’ - all of which is clearly spelled out in the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.
EDUCATION-KENYA: Time Now for Universal Secondary Schooling? August 24th, 2007
Dear Editors,
In your article dated January 14, I noted how ironical it is that Kenya Polytechnics also require a student to have gone through secondary education rather than allowing Primary School leavers access.
ENERGY: Biofuel Seen as Boost for Poor Farmers August 23rd, 2007
Dear Editors,
I enjoy reading IPSNews and think that you are providing a great service with you in-depth coverage of the world affairs. I have to strongly disagree with the benefits of the biofuels. I regard the idea of biofuels as a planned genocide. The economic benefits will only reach the multinational corporations and the big land owners. I live in Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso and have seen many examples of the poor farmers that received their land through the agrarian reforms, being forced from their land by the gunmen hired by the multinational corporations and the rich farmers. When the value of the land increases due to the biofuel projects, the pressure upon the poor settlers will increase even further. Do you remember the murder of the Dorothy Stang. She was helping poor settlers to fight against the big land owners. That’s the story you read about. The thousand of other stories of assassinations and extortions you will not hear or see published. You have to go to those areas and see for yourself. And while you there be careful, you also could be the target. There are ruthless and lawless areas where police can be bought or assassinated. That’s the reason that I only see only evil in the biofuel. Of course, I do not know the conditions in Africa, Mexico or other countries in the world, but, is the picture anywhere different? I personally doubt it.
Please visit my blog http://lost-in-mato-grosso.blogspot.com/ and my new blog http://twistedphotos.blogspot.com
MIDEAST: U.S. Arms Create New Divisions August 23rd, 2007
Dear IPS Editors,
The surge of additional American weapons to the Middle East will come back to haunt us over time. There is no way that additional armaments can change the Arab resentment of the US invasion of a neighbouring state and the utter destruction of its people and infrastructure, not to mention the burden of refugees from Iraq. No one is fooled. Our obsessive catering to the rogue state of Israel
and the attack upon Iraq for its oil cannot be so easily erased. In the meantime, the administration has again used public money to strengthen the arms manufacturers’ devotion to the Republican party - regardless of how those armaments are eventually used by these far - from democratic states.
Peter Cohen
*****
Dear Editors,
Despite the massive arms that Israel is going to receive, nothing can change the will of the people in the Middle East. Israel will go, just as South Africa went, back to the people in the Middle East. Within 50 years, very slowly, Israel will be Palestine again. History dictates… and America? It will go the way England way… slow trot to just a nation.
LATIN AMERICA: Indigenous, Black Women Face ‘Triple Glass Ceiling August 22nd, 2007
Dear Editors,
Thank you for your article. I am indigenous myself from Canada and I can certainly relate to the issues that indigenous women face. I find sometimes that conflicts also come from our own Indigenous women who are in leading positions when they are dealing with multi million companies. It is also an issue when non-aboriginals are retained for aboriginal issues at the Indigenous local level. The local people feel left out and totally misunderstood and ignored when they express their concerns about environmental impacts and cultural analysis as the scientist are the real experts about environment and land and rely only on scientific data.
HEALTH-BURMA: HIV Rates Falling As Funds Dry Up - Experts August 22nd, 2007
Dear Editors,
I will defend the Myanmar Junta when it comes to HIV prevention and education. Orwellian as it may sound, the pock marked billboards extolling the virtues of safe sex is as ubiquitous as the mohinga sold on the streets of Yangon.
MIDEAST: Bush Could Have Given Fatah That Kiss of Death August 22nd, 2007
Dear Editors,
The hypocrisy of the Bush administration is mind boggling! Insisting upon free elections (to try to buttress their promotion of democracy in the Middle East) in the Palestine area. Then, when their favourite (after contributing millions in support to sway the election), was over whelming defeated by a popular vote, “cried foul”! Isn’t that kind of like rigging and paying off officials at a football game, and the unsupported side won regardless? And then have the Gaul to declare the winner “a cheater”? I am totally at a loss as to why there are still 7% of the world’s population that think president Bush is good for the world in general and humanity in particular! This is an uncontrolled loose cannon with absolutely no regard for human lives, us taxpayers’ money, the welfare of us citizens, our brave troops who really have no idea what their mission is, and the third “general of operations in Iraq” who will toe the line and retire at his current pay level. General Petraeus will offer his report in Sept. This report will (as already told by the administration) will be presented to the White House and “his thoughts will be considered”, and then the report, by the White House; will be presented to a fawning congress! Greed, arrogance, and some absurd wish that he will be remembered by historians as a “great president” (I just wish I could have put that last quote in lower-than-lower case letters). I know Bush prays for Cheney not to die, and then he (Bush) will have to run the country! I wish I could have been a little vitriolic towards this administration, but I am a “patriot”.
MIDEAST: U.S. Arms Create New Divisions August 21st, 2007
Dear IPS Editors,
The surge of additional American weapons to the Middle East will come back to haunt us over time. There is no way that additional armaments can change the Arab resentment of the US invasion of a neighbouring state and the utter destruction of its people and infrastructure, not to mention the burden of refugees from Iraq. No one is fooled. Our obsessive catering to the rogue state of Israel
and the attack upon Iraq for its oil cannot be so easily erased. In the meantime, the administration has again used public money to strengthen the arms manufacturers’ devotion to the Republican party - regardless of how those armaments are eventually used by these far - from democratic states.
Peter Cohen
*****
Dear Editors,
Despite the massive arms that Israel is going to receive, nothing can change the will of the people in the Middle East. Israel will go, just as South Africa went, back to the people in the Middle East. Within 50 years, very slowly, Israel will be Palestine again. History dictates… and America? It will go the way England way… slow trot to just a nation.
JAMAICA: On 120th Anniversary, Garvey Finally Wins Respect at Home August 20th, 2007
Hello,
I enjoy the article on Garvey, however, am not at home by away in Europe at the moment, but there are some very important political concerns missing in the assessment of Garvey. But in time I will deal with those in detail….
CULTURE: It All Begins With a Webcam and a Smile August 20th, 2007
Dear Editors,
A wonderful concept!! Students need a dialog opportunity to gain understanding, which hopefully leads to information, tolerance, cooperation, eventually a better world. However with the current state of affairs and laws regarding privacy, wire tapping, and govt. spying on private citizens - the long range consequences might be quite different from those I would intend. Was funding channelled from the CIA?
ARTS-HAITI: Around the World in Eight Days August 20th, 2007
Dear Editors,
I am a Haitian female living in New York for too long now, but is still afraid to go back home for several reasons. I admire people like Paula Hyppolite who knew what they wanted for themselves and beloved country, and further took steps to reach their dream. I would like to go back home to help and I hope to do so soon. I want to say thank you to Paula, who is a woman with a golden heart.
EGYPT: U.S. Funnels Aid to Coptic Christians, Documents Show August 20th, 2007
Dear Editors,
It seems our government is on a crusade to eliminate all non-Christians, starting with those who follow Islam. They have conveniently used 9/11 to convince the American people and other predominately Christian nations, that followers of Islam are all terrorist rather than groups resisting the occupation of their countries and the pillage of their natural resources. This action, from a nation in which religious freedom is part of the very foundation, can only lead to a deterioration of relationships with non-Christian nations, and endanger the Christian minorities who our government, apparently considers more important than the American population. How many deteriorating bridges or/and schools could be repaired with the billions of dollars that are being sent to empower minority Christian populations? How many uninsured children could be provided health care? Foreign aid is just another cash cow the administration uses to bribe foreign officials and distribute payments to friends. Both parties are equally guilty of these offences. It’s time the American people take control of our government out of the hands of the rich and privileged, and for the first time in our history put the people in charge. In 2008 we have the opportunity to start this process, and by 2010 the government could be totally in control of the people. Isn’t it time our taxes went for the benefit of all the American people rather than the few and their outside interests?
Thank you for providing a means for the people to comment.
POLITICS-US: Attempts to De-Bug Voting Systems Before 2008 Elections August 19th, 2007
Dear Editors,
There is a national group that is partially responsible for trying to resolve the myriad voting machine and Election Day procedure problems: the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent, bipartisan body created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Please do a story about this commission. I believe that the members are appointed, with Senate approval, by the White House. My concern is that they could become political, bi-partisan or not, and not be independent at all.
Arlene Montemarano
*****
Dear Editors,
You quote Kim Brace, of EDS, saying, “there hasn’t been a successful hacking of an election environment.” How can you use this quote and not ask him: “How do you know that?” What, for example, do you think happened in the Florida 13th Congressional District election, last year, where 18,000 votes for U.S. Representative disappeared - and all of them from touch screen, paperless voting machines? The whole point of the objections to paperless voting technology is that there’s no way of knowing whether they have been hacked. That’s what Avi Rubin - and 95% of all computer security experts not directly employed either by voting machine vendors or by election officials who have bought their machines - has been saying for the past four years. So far they have not received a single credible answer. As for the federal Election Assistance Commission, to date they have proven themselves to be clueless facilitators of the vendor industry.
Michael Berla
Columbia
*****
Dear Editors,
We can fix the machines, but if we are to achieve one voter, one vote… every time, we must go back to basics. Apply sound business practices to ensure the voting systems we purchase fully meet our needs for election integrity. And ensure those machines work… all of them. Not just a sampling. We’re caught in a tailspin of bottom-up catch and fix of serious flaws that should have been addressed prior to purchase.
Moreover, until we also fix our election laws to be on par with technology, to protect us from machine and human error, and human interpretation of election results our election process will continue to be broken. The courts should not decide the people’s choice. In 2006, it was the failure of Florida’s revised election laws that permitted an election with statistically improbable results to stand (18,000 under votes). 2000’s debacle with the pregnant chards resulted from failure to maintain the voting equipment properly. However it was the failure of Florida’s election laws that permitted the chaos that followed. Had Florida’s election laws caught up with technology, both elections would have been an automatic re-do.
Until we implement high-bar guidelines for voting machine providers and elections officials to uphold, no hedging, no exceptions we are at risk. And while the heroine of my political intrigue, “A Margin of Error: Ballots of Straw” scoffs at the notion of a silent coup marching across the country in her fictitious voting machines… It could happen more easily than any of us want to believe.
ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Leopards Thrive Where Tigers Once Roamed August 18th, 2007
Dear Editors,
Calling the leopard ‘a major coward’ is a kind of anthropomorphism a piece on wildlife can do without. This amounts to a deficiency in the perception of wildlife.
POLITICS-US: Attempts to De-Bug Voting Systems Before 2008 Elections August 17th, 2007
Dear Editors,
There is a national group that is partially responsible for trying to resolve the myriad voting machine and Election Day procedure problems: the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent, bipartisan body created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Please do a story about this commission. I believe that the members are appointed, with Senate approval, by the White House. My concern is that they could become political, bi-partisan or not, and not be independent at all.
Arlene Montemarano
*****
Dear Editors,
You quote Kim Brace, of EDS, saying, “there hasn’t been a successful hacking of an election environment.” How can you use this quote and not ask him: “How do you know that?” What, for example, do you think happened in the Florida 13th Congressional District election, last year, where 18,000 votes for U.S. Representative disappeared - and all of them from touch screen, paperless voting machines? The whole point of the objections to paperless voting technology is that there’s no way of knowing whether they have been hacked. That’s what Avi Rubin - and 95% of all computer security experts not directly employed either by voting machine vendors or by election officials who have bought their machines - has been saying for the past four years. So far they have not received a single credible answer. As for the federal Election Assistance Commission, to date they have proven themselves to be clueless facilitators of the vendor industry.
Michael Berla
Columbia
*****
Dear Editors,
We can fix the machines, but if we are to achieve one voter, one vote… every time, we must go back to basics. Apply sound business practices to ensure the voting systems we purchase fully meet our needs for election integrity. And ensure those machines work… all of them. Not just a sampling. We’re caught in a tailspin of bottom-up catch and fix of serious flaws that should have been addressed prior to purchase.
Moreover, until we also fix our election laws to be on par with technology, to protect us from machine and human error, and human interpretation of election results our election process will continue to be broken. The courts should not decide the people’s choice. In 2006, it was the failure of Florida’s revised election laws that permitted an election with statistically improbable results to stand (18,000 under votes). 2000’s debacle with the pregnant chards resulted from failure to maintain the voting equipment properly. However it was the failure of Florida’s election laws that permitted the chaos that followed. Had Florida’s election laws caught up with technology, both elections would have been an automatic re-do.
Until we implement high-bar guidelines for voting machine providers and elections officials to uphold, no hedging, no exceptions we are at risk. And while the heroine of my political intrigue, “A Margin of Error: Ballots of Straw” scoffs at the notion of a silent coup marching across the country in her fictitious voting machines… It could happen more easily than any of us want to believe.
RIGHTS-THAILAND: Thaksin May Yet Pay for Bloody ‘War-on-Drugs’ August 17th, 2007
Dear Editors,
Human rights advocates are keener to see Thaksin booked for a murderous campaign he led against drug peddlers four years ago. I think it is time for human rights to speak up or shut up, but do not cherry pick their cause. All drug peddlers should be executed; no ifs and buts. If human right thinks otherwise - they have no right to exist as an organization, they might as well invite Kun San and Than Shwe to be on their Board of Directors; better still, invite them home for dinner with the kids. Drug peddling is a scourge to society, is human rights that myopic?
ASIA: Thai Junta as Saviour of Democracy in Burma August 17th, 2007
Dear Editors,
“Thailand’s junta leader, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, is in danger of inviting comparisons with military strongmen in neighbouring Burma, where successive generals have refused to transfer power to a civilian administration for decades;” Bingo! That is exactly where she is heading. As the sun sets in the west, the shadow of Gen. Than Shwe and the junta casts’ their eerie shadow across Thailand under Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin. Can Thailand be far behind from becoming another Myanmar?
RIGHTS-THAILAND: Restrictions Make Life Tough For Migrant Workers August 17th, 2007
Dear Editors,
It is an irony, that if were not for the cheap labour from Myanmar, Thailand would not be one of the economic powerhouse in Asia that she is. All the clothes that come to the US for corporations like the Banana Republic, Levis, Bugle Boy, Old Navy, GAP, Target, Wal-Mart to name few, came from Thailand - courtesy of the migrant workers, and yet they are treated like criminals.
What ever happened to Thailand’s Buddhist belief of treating life for what it is, and not for what it is worth, or where it came from? Where is the love and charity for the less unfortunate? It is time for Thailand to spend more time with the plight of the Burmese migrant workers and less time sleeping with the Generals in Myanmar, so that their economic coffers are not filled with the ill-gotten-resources from Myanmar.
Shwe Moore
California
*****
Dear Editors,
This is a really interesting article. I understand that the article only mentioned the migrant workers from Burma, Laos, and Cambodia. How does this situation affect legal workers from other countries through out the world? Economically, this could be a set back for Thailand since it may scared away foreign workers through out the world. Personally, I would not go to Thailand to work or to visit if the situation exists.
CORRUPTION-HONDURAS: International Aid Hanging by a Thread August 17th, 2007
Dear Editors,
I am a retired U.S. citizen who has lived on the North Coast of Honduras for 12 years and has known Honduras for close to 20 years. I have observed the various governments, both liberal and nationalist, and, much like the United States, the only difference between the two parties is the group of people that is able to gain the most from their office. The courts are the worst. Justice in civil matters is either bought for favors or cash. Gracias a Dios that I know little about the criminal Courts. I almost died laughing when I was last in San Pedro Sula when I read the words, “To Protect and Serve” written in Spanish on the door of a police vehicle. They do not serve an effective purpose. They do not investigate crimes, the few people who are supposed to do that, are, for the most part, more interested in coke busts than robberies, murders, etc. The statements by members of the current government would seem to be typical of the Honduran culture. Sounding indignant at being insulted. Hondurans of all classes rarely confront each other. It is always taken personally and almost always has its venganza or revenge. In the case of denying the Nation of Honduras funds from a U.S. organization, the venganza would take the form of the government accepting funds from the Hugo Chavez/ Daniel Ortega allied nations. Nicaragua is a neighbour and Honduras has just re-opened it’s embassy in Havana. President Zelaya has met with President Bush, but he is seemingly closer to Sr. Chavez. The people in power in both parties do not want the gravy train to go away and that is better understood by their Latin American neighbours. Honduras has always been a nation that did nothing until some other nation paid for it, and I doubt that they care which side it comes from. My experiences with the National Telephone Co are typical Nationwide. Their lines end only 7/10 of kilometres from two beachfront hotels and 6/10 km from my home. Together, we have requested that the line be extended to our locations. Under the liberal administration that was in office at the time we first appealed to Hondutel, (Each local office is run by a political appointee who knows nothing about telephone communication) we were asked to pay for the equipment and labour. (In other words, bribe them to do it). Under a nationalist administration we were told that they were going to actually do it. That they were going to provide service to everyone on the road, not just us. The action was continually delayed while they installed a fibber optic line to a Garifuna village that exists 12km beyond our location. We could not benefit from that as they could not cut into the fibber optic line. We waited until the new line was installed. By then the political parties changed and the liberals put their guy into the management office. Our request was unknown to the new appointee, so we re-submitted it and were told that there was not enough money to do it. So I was impressed by your reporter’s quite believable description of the “democracy” that exists here. It is the United States with fewer zeros involved in the bribery process. The U.S has been rated as 20th on the Corruption List. I believe I read that Honduras is # 6. At the level I live at, there is no transparency, and the corruption is quite blatant. But it is a deep rooted way of life.
PERU: No Peace for Living or Dead 22 Years After Massacre August 16th, 2007
Dear Editors,
I’m very appreciative of this article because it has become my belief that in order to achieve justice, when it comes to military or law enforcement atrocities against the people, is to seek it internationally. I hope that many more victims come forward and put these cowards on the stand so they are punished for what they did to innocent men, women and children. It’s a shame that one’s own government does not uphold the law but the same happens on US borders and if you can’t have justice in your own country you have to seek it elsewhere. The women on the border of Mexico and the US who are killed in the desert and the police officials are aware that this happens but do nothing. Regardless if their Americans or not they are human beings who are being killed on the border by Mexican police officials after their raped. I seriously doubt that the border patrol of the US is not aware of these atrocities and either they’re apart of the crimes or they turn a blind eye. It’s sad and disappointing to know that the victim’s families must seek justice in other countries rather than receive it by their own government. This is only a prime example of why International Courts should be set in place in order for families of victim’s to receive justice.
RIGHTS-MEXICO: Journalist Hit with Libel Charge after Exposing Paedophile Ring August 16th, 2007
Dear Editors,
Another prime example as to why International Courts is a necessity in order for victims to receive justice. It’s such a shame that the individuals who want to help, who want to make a difference are being persecuted by the police officials who are supposed to be the ones who are to defend the weak and innocents. It’s actually quite sad and a reality check to those of us who used to believe that maybe there can be justice. When we read articles like these it just goes to show how law, justice and equality are not respected by those who are supposed to uphold them. Money and political power are the true movers and shakers of this world. Why would anyone want to fight such a daunting task? Why would anyone put their family, career and reputation on the line for strangers? Why would political officials, who disagree with these criminal actions, choose to defend these individuals when there’s no money involved? It’s always the individuals who are not linked to politics and law that decide to defend the hopeless and they become the criminals. Doesn’t anyone care anymore about right and wrong? It’s so depressing to think that no matter what good intentions you bring to the table, money and power will always control the situation.
ARGENTINA: Silent Extinction of Mbya Guarani People August 16th, 2007
Dear Editors,
I am currently writing a book, with a conservationist perspective, on San Rafael - the second largest fragment of Upper Parana Atlantic Forest remaining in Paraguay. One section of the book focuses on the approximate 20 Mbya Guarani communities living in the forest. I lived next to San Rafael for two years and have spent the past few months interviewing inhabitants in the area including the Mbya communities and a doctor who at times attends to them. He cites respiratory problems and malnutrition as the two most common problems. Their situation is serious. In 2006 alone a community of about 17 families had 4 cases of tuberculosis according to the doctor. Almost all the problems facing the Mbya Guarani in Argentina ring true for Paraguay’s communities as well. It truly has been and continues to be a silent extinction since the arrival of the Europeans. I applaud efforts, like this article, to speak up and break the silence.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Deniers Jump on NASA Gaff, While Greenland on Verge of Meltdown August 16th, 2007
Dear Editors,
Stephen Leahy should write comedy. His article on ‘’deniers'’ and Greenland’s melt was hysterical. Please direct him to this report, which should calm him down and hopefully educate him as what the current science says about Greenland. You guys owe it to your readers to actually report the real world, not absurd rhetoric of what could, might, may happen in the future.
Thanks for publishing Nora Barrows-Friedman’s moving report on the efforts of Israeli settlers and authorities to destroy the Palestinian village of Wadi Rahaal. I just have to quibble on one point. Toward the end Nora says: “The Ministry revealed that there are currently 275,156 settlers living in illegal settlements in the West Bank…” The problem is that Israel’s definition of the West Bank, and therefore the number of settlers it counts, excludes East Jerusalem, on the grounds that the Israel government formally annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. But that action was in direct violation of international law, and no other country - not even the US! - Recognizes it as legal. Historically, economically, and culturally, as well as legally and morally, East Jerusalem is very much a part of the West Bank - indeed the heart of it - and even though the 200,000+ Jews now living there may not think of themselves as settlers, in fact they are. Obviously, the Israeli Interior Ministry is not going to count them as such, but if you’re going to quote the ministry’s total, I think you should point out that it does not include the large number of Jews living in EJ. Nora certainly knows all this, but I’m sure some readers don’t.
SRI LANKA: Probe French Aid Agency For Massacre - Gov’t August 15th, 2007
Dear Editors,
This is not surprising. Not a single crime committed against the Tamils are investigated in impartially or action taken by the majority Sinhala government of Sri Lanka. Many Tamil journalists, politicians, aid workers, civilians, students have been murdered, abducted and tortured to death, all with tacit approval and directions of the government and carried out by army in the last two years. The govt blames everything on the rebels and compares itself to the rebel movement all the time. It is equally surprising that none donors question the human rights record of the country, or the genocide inflicted on the Tamil population on the country. Innocent Tamils are arrested if they seen on the streets of the country and held without charge under the emergency regulations prevailing in the country. The Peace Secretariat and Minister for Human Rights in Sri Lanka are all political appointees of the ruling Govt., so how can someone expect justice to prevail. They all speak the same language. It would have been better if it named the War Secretariat instead.
Over the past two years more 20 commissions were appointed to investigate various crimes. Up to now not a single person was charged or action taken which clearly shows the govt complicity in crimes committee against the Tamils. But the govt and its supporters are very quick to accuse and hit back at any organisation which points out the excesses of the govt. Is this a democratic country, or a failed state?
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