Dear editors,

Excellent analysis. Finally somebody has noticed that the ‘Emperor has no clothes’.

Haris Wijayasiri

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Dear editors,

I read with interest your article entitled ‘SRI LANKA: NGO Scam Spotlights Cozy Funding Deals’ and am thankful that you have raised important issues in a balanced fashion.

I would like however to clarify some points that may arise with reference to the paragraph that talks of the government’s Peace Secretariat, known for bashing NGOs working in the peace and governance sectors’.

The Peace Secretariat in fact, after I took office, initiated a dialogue with such NGOs, with many of which we work together very comfortably. Earlier this week for instance we met many of the PAFFREL delegation to the East, and discussed ways in which better governance that is more responsive to citizen needs could emerge from the forthcoming local Elections in the East.

There were a few leading lights however in the better publicized NGOs who did not accept our invitation to talk, and indeed avoided the discussions we had invited them to during the meetings of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Instead they indulged in fringe meetings where they statements could go unchallenged, without accepting the opportunity to discuss and debate issues.

It was representatives of some of those NGOs that we found spearheading the objections to Rama Mani’s dismissal, while several of those who signed the petition have since told us that they were in error. In this context I would be grateful if you reproduced the attached letter of Mr Omar Noman, to whom your article refers in a manner that suggests his involvement led to adverse accusations re the international community.

On the contrary, Mr Noman has made very clear the manner in which he was inveigled into signing the petition by Rama Mani and her associates, making clear the embarrassment he felt as a UN official. In this regard the Peace Secretariat also appreciates the forthright response of the UNDP head to a media attempt to misrepresent the visit of UN Under Secretary General Angela Kane.

In the past misrepresentation of the international community by Sri Lankans anxious to claim support for their hyper-critical approach has not met with such categorical refutation, and these responses are a step in the right direction, to make clear the fruitful partnership that Sri Lanka enjoys with the international community at large.

An article I wrote on the ICES issue did however note the incestuous nature of the funding process, with employees of some of this group of select NGOs sitting on boards that awarded funds to others. Much of this funding comes from foreign governments, but I suspect those governments, and their taxpayers who ultimately foot these bills, would not be happy with the use made of some of their money.

For instance I find it inconceivable that Canadian and Australian taxpayers would approve of CIDA and AusAID respectively funding a electronic newsletter that talks about Sri Lanka as ‘a country at war and democracy that’s hostage to the whim and fancy of a President and his coterie of murderous brutes’?

It is in such respects that greater accountability and transparency are essential. Radhika Coomaraswamy, in an attempt it seems to excuse her financial incompetence, has claimed that ‘I for example had no management training in Sri lanka- only watched Neelan- the first thing the UN had me do is to go for two days of training- I learnt a lot.’

Sri Lanka cannot afford such amateur approaches, not in the context of funding agencies that have their own agendas which innocents like Radhika Coomaraswamy, or worse, which is what the Rama Mani episode indicates, promote unsubstantiated criticism of the country in which they operate.

Rajiva Wijesinha

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Dear editors,

The sentiment is noble — and I detest any suppression of results. But bias distorts the truth on all sides. Research itself is an industry, and successful or not - the funding must go on. So, research free from politics would require research free from money, for starters. See, for example, Greenberg’s “Science, Money, and Politics” (2001).

Robert Fuld

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Dear editors,

It’s unfortunate that Stephen Leahy, your writer on the polar-bears-go-hungry story, didn’t see fit to mention in his story on drowning, starving bears that their numbers have increased 400% since the sixties (from about 5,000 to around 25,000 today). The Arctic ice pack, which was smaller last summer than any ice pack since 1945 (when ships were freely able to use the Northwest Passage, rebounded rapidly this fall and winter thanks to temperatures in northern Canada as low as minus 50C. The ice pack today, consequently, is 2 million square kilometers larger than the winter average for the last three years and up to 20 centimeters thicker.
But even if the Arctic ice pack were to start shrinking again in a few years the idea that polar bears would go extinct seems contradicted by the evidence. Northern hemispheric temperatures have been as warm as or warmer than today four times in the last 1,500 years. Obviously polar bears didn’t go extinct then.
It is also foolish to take at face value the notion that polar bears can only survive by living on ice and eating seals. Polar bears, like grizzly bears to whom they are closely related, are omnivorous. A polar bear can eat anything a grizzly can and interbreed with them as well.
According to some residents of Churchill, many of the stories about the demise of the polar bear are inspired by biologists from the southern 48 states who fly into town for ten days, take pictures of the skinniest bears they can find, and then hold a press conference to announce that their data prove that the polar bear is facing imminent extinction. In the meanwhile the local Inuit are saying “there’s just as many bears as there ever were.”
Given that so many people, including Canadian biologists and the Inuit themselves, believe that polar bears are doing just fine, it’s too bad Leahy couldn’t find anyone to interview who didn’t think the sky was falling.
Sincerely,

Paul Ciotti

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Dear Editors,

The great posturing of Nasrallah at Mugnieh’s death spreads a sudden realization of that
he very likely produced the carefully spaced clean hands assassinations of the
anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians. Nazrallah went wild. Does the “natural battlefield”
include Argentina? Mugnieh, the ultimate quality assassin seems to have been Nasrallah’s
number two, and hobnobbed with Syria’s Bashir Assad, and with the leaders of Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, and Iran. It has been alleged that this whole cast of characters met in
Damascus near the day of Mugnieh’s death.

William Kinney

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Estimado Jose Adan,

Mil gracias por el reportaje publicado en el IPSNEWS, parece muy completo, sin embargo, creo oportuno subrayar que las atenciones proporcionadas a los sobrevivientes de minas que detalla en el articulo son coordinadas y ejecutadas por el Programa de la OEA, con recursos de la comunidad donante , utilizando los servicios de diversas entidades y personas nacionales y extranjeras como CENAPRORTO, CAPADIFE, Walking Unidos entre otros. El Programa de la OEA es parte de la CND quizas por eso la interpretacion que la CND proporciono los servicios, pero valdria indicar por lo menos que las atenciones las proporcionamos nosotros que somos parte de la Comision del Ministerio de Defensa,

Con atentos saludos..

Carlos J. Orozco
Coordinador Regional del PADCA
Organizacion de los Estados Americanos
Managua, Nicaragua

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Dear Editor,

I loved your story, used a bit of it in my talk about gender issues in the current Kenyan crisis. Thank you!
I am a member of the Kenya Peace and Solidarity Committee (KPSC) here in Canada. KPSC is comprised mainly of residents of Vancouver, Kenyan-Canadians, African-Canadians and Canadian sympathisers. We are wanting to get in touch with a Kenyan journalist to help with coverage of the video conferencing event scheduled to take place on March 18, 2008 as an initiative of Simon Fraser University. Simon Fraser University has been quite involved in this process and is the main organiser of the event. Is there any one that would best help coordiante this from Kenya? In responding, please reply to Tara Cooper the Chair of KPSC at “Tara Cooper” or Mignon Alphonso. If you have any enquiries or concerns please feel free to contact them via email.

Regards,
Jackie Ochieng
Employment Counsellor
Pacific Community Resources Society

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Dear Editor,

My two cents:
Re: “At a press conference in Bucharest Monday, Marko Bela said the Kosovo case can only represent a precedent in terms of the need for international actors to get involved in strengthening rights of ethnic minorities. No analogy should be made otherwise between Kosovo and the status of other regions around the Balkans, said Bela.”
What were the rights the Kosovars wanted, and the current Serb government would not grant?
Re: “Furthermore, Gosu claims that opposition to Kosovo independence contradicts the country’s status as NATO member and strategic partner of countries like the United States and France, who are recognising independence.”
Admission of Kosovo independence contradicts the 1975 Helsinki agreement on inviolability of state borders:
IV. Territorial integrity of States
The participating States will respect the territorial integrity of each of the participating States. Accordingly, they will refrain from any action inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations against the territorial integrity, political independence or the unity of any participating State, and in particular from any such action
constituting a threat or use of force.

Laurentiu Dafinescu
Detroit, MI, USA

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Dear Editors,

Military defeat suffered by S.Africa? One needs only to look at the numbers to realize who defeated whom at the battle of Cuito Caunavale. Sure, S.Africa withdrew from SWA/Namibia and ultimately apartheid ended. But those who fought in the battles between February and June ‘88 will know that 61 Mech, 4 SAI and 32 Battalion kicked not only FAPLA’s backside but Castro’s as well. War sucks and everyone loses but if we are going to keep score, then looks at the scorecard. 3000 vs. 50000. S.Africa lost 31 killed against (at least) 4700 from FAPLA and over 1000 Cubans. 3 Tanks vs. 94 tanks. 1 Aircraft (Mirage F1) vs. 22 (4 X Mig 21, 8 x Mig 23, 2 x SU22 and 8 x helicopters) and 4 armoured cars vs. 106 and so on and so on… Why was General Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez executed? Oh yes, it was drugs wasn’t it? Maybe one day when Cuba is free, its veterans of the Angolan war will be able to tell the truth. The whole truth. Other than the last paragraph, I really enjoyed your story. Thanks.

Regards,

Kevin Cuyler
Australia

*****

Dear Editor

Thanks for this fine article on an underpublished event in history. I have always kept up with the freedom movements around the world linking them to the Civil Rights movement here in the United States, as they were all fights against injustice, tyranny, and arrogance for the most part. One of the television channels here in the USA that I view with regularity is the History Channel, as of yet I have not seen any documentation on Cuba’s involvement in Angola and their routing of the South African armed forces. I imagine the anti-Castro bias in this country extends into the integrity and candor of displaying history as is.
I was in high school in 1975 when Cuban troops were introduced into Angola. Liberation movements were part of the current events that we discussed in history classes. Again, thanks for the article and I look forward to more.

Sincerely,
Fred Barnes

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Dear Editors,

Scientists Estimate That Pesticides are Reducing Crop Yields by one-third Through Impaired Nitrogen Fixation - July 2007
http://www.organic-center.org/science.hot.php?action=view&report_id=99
Over the last forty years nitrogen fertilizer use has increased seven-fold and nearly every acre of intensively farmed, conventional cropland is treated with pesticides. A team of scientists explored the impact of pesticides and other environmental toxicants on symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) brought about by Rhizobium bacteria (Fox et al., 2007). Their findings were published June 12, 2007 in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/24/10282

The team describes the critical role played by SNF in supporting crop yields and environmental quality. SNF has great potential to reduce farm production costs - a factor of growing importance as rising natural gas prices push upward the cost of nitrogen fertilizers. In Brazil, SNF from soybeans reduces production costs an estimated $1.3 billion per year. The research by Fox et al. (2007) explored in depth the signalling processes between plants and bacteria colonizing plant roots - processes that govern the degree of SNF and the production of certain phytochemicals. They focused on the ways that pesticides can disrupt signalling and impair the efficiency of SNF. Some 30 pesticides are known to disrupt SNF; the most widely used pesticide in the United States, glyphosate (Roundup) is known to be toxic to nitrogen fixing bacteria.

The “Conclusions” section of the paper begins by stating: “The results of this study demonstrate that one of the environmental impacts of pesticides and contaminants in the soil environment is disruption of chemical signalling between the host plants and N-fixing Rhiz(obia) necessary for efficient SNF and optimal plant yield.”

Drawing on their recent work and other published studies, the team projected that pesticides and other contaminants are reducing plant yield by one-third as a result of impaired SNF. This remarkable conclusion suggests one mechanism, or explanation of the yield-enhancing benefits of well-managed, long-term organic farming systems.

Source: “Pesticides reduce symbiotic efficiency of nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and host plants”
Authors: Jennifer E. Fox, Jay Gulledge, Erika Engelhaupt, Matthew E. Burrow, and John A. McLachlan.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 104, No. 24, June 12, 2007. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

How to kill pests without killing yourself or the earth……

There are about 50 to 60 million insect species on earth - we have named only about 1 million and there are only about 1 thousand pest species - already over 50% of these thousand pests are already resistant to our volatile, dangerous, synthetic pesticide POISONS. We accidentally lose about 25,000 to 100,000 species of insects, plants and animals every year due to “man’s footprint”. But, after poisoning the entire world and contaminating every living thing for over 60 years with these dangerous and ineffective pesticide POISONS we have not even controlled much less eliminated even one pest species and every year we use/misuse more and more pesticide POISONS to try to “keep up”! Even with all of this expensive pollution - we lose more and more crops and lives to these thousand pests every year.

We are losing the war against these thousand pests mainly because we insist on using only synthetic pesticide POISONS and fertilizers There has been a severe “knowledge drought” - a worldwide decline in agricultural R&D, especially in production research and safe, more effective pest control since the advent of synthetic pesticide POISONS and fertilizers. Today we are like lemmings running to the sea insisting that is the “right way”. The greatest challenge facing humanity this century is the necessity for us to double our global food production with less land, less water, less nutrients, less science, frequent droughts, more and more contamination and ever-increasing pest damage.

National Poison Prevention Week, March 18-24,2007 was created to highlight the dangers of poisoning and how to prevent it. One study shows that about 70,000 children in the USA were involved in common household pesticide-related (acute) poisonings or exposures in 2004. It is estimated that 300,000 farm workers suffer acute pesticide poisoning each year in the United States - No one is checking chronic contamination.

In order to try to help “stem the tide”, I have just finished re-writing my IPM encyclopaedia entitled: the best control II, that contains over 2,800 safe and far more effective alternatives to pesticide POISONS. This latest copyrighted work is about 1,800 pages in length and is now being updated at my new website at http://www.stephentvedten.com/ .

This new website at http://www.stephentvedten.com/ has been basically updated; all we have left to update is Chapter 39 and to renumber the pages. All of these copyrighted items are free for you to read and/or download. There is simply no need to POISON yourself or your family or to have any pest problems.

Stephen L. Tvedten
Michigan

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Dear Editors,

As an Okinawan Woman, and American by Naturalization, and a Filmmaker who has been filming stories in Japan for several years, some of your facts need to be corrected. Rapes on Okinawan Women are not new, the protests are not as muted as you write, and when Okinawans protest about the Abuses by US Military, Nothing is ever done. Okinawans have lived as oppressed people for so long, many have given up hope, The Pope could speak up and the US Military will not change. In 1995, 3 US Marines brutally gang raped a 12 year old girl, and even though this brings bitter memories to Okinawans: Americans very seldom hear about these cases. What is not known about the rate in 1995, is that one of the Marines upon his release from jail, after a 5 year sentence, returned to the USA, and later raped and murdered a University Coed, before he committed suicide:

A fact few Americans are aware of:
Yet these men that commit these crimes are not forced to register as sex offenders.
Okinawa is forced to shoulder the burden, 75% of US Military in Asia.
Okinawa has 37 Military bases on an island the size of New York City.
The US Military is trying to build another base off Camp Swaab by re-claiming Ocean Area, disturbing the natural Habitat of the Okinawan Dugong, a large Manatee, that feeds off the sea grasses.

Our film titled “Why Okinawa? Messages from the People” won a “Best Historical Documentary” in New York City this past year. Our story examined the Futenma MCAS and why it was allowed to continue to exist, even though it is considered the most dangerous military base in the world. The mainland of Japan has only 4 US Bases, Korea has 5. So when you hear about “Japan” hosting 50,000 Military, everyone assumes that it is the Mainland of Japan: This is simply not a true or accurate statement.

It is Okinawa, who has to carry this burden, and along with that are the many rapes, robberies murders, beatings and all of the rest of the crimes the US Military brings. What happened to “Vicarious Liability” why are Commanders of these misfits not also charged with crimes for helping cover them up. Why do the good men and women of the US Military not speak out, about what their criminal brothers and sisters do? As News Professionals, you should also be asking why Okinawa has to continue to be bullied by both the USA and the Government of Japan.

Kinue Oshiro-Avery
Director http://www.SilkDragonProductions.com Japan
and co-director http://www.RAFilms.org
U.S.

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Dear Editors,

It seems, not 4, but 10 EU members won’t recognize Kosovo’s proclamation of independence. See
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=02&dd=18&nav_id=47794
In fact, Kosovo will be recognized only by the US and its closest allies, in Europe and in the Islamic world. A majority in the UN Security Council, not only Russia, is opposed to Kosovo’s secession. It’s no surprise that the first state to recognize it has been Afghanistan: a big part of Afghan opium production arrives in Kosovo, after changed into heroin in Turkish labs, where it is then distributed all through W. Europe. It’s no surprise that on both ends of the chain you find US and NATO troops, securing this way a bright future to our youth. By recognizing Kosovo’s secession, major W. powers reward a government led by a war criminal, whose former militia, KLA, is responsible for the worst atrocities against Roma since WW2.

Georges Berghezan
Belgium

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Dear Editors,

I just want to give my views regarding the killings of illegal miners in Porgera. From witnessing first hand what goes on in the Open pit during blasts and the danger that illegal miners put themselves through is very frightening. The PJV security force also endangers their lives when they are confronting the illegal miners to stop them and they shoot for self-defence since illegal miners sometimes are armed too.

The only solution to stop people from trespassing into the SML is to have the SML landowners reselected out of the SML boundary. Since the SML shares the same boundary the illegal miners are housed within the SML and it is very easy excess to get in. Also the SML landowners do not have fresh water, garden land or ample free land to set up small business like trade stores etc to support them. Influx of outsiders also is very great and life is very expensive thus people sort to illegal mining since it is a fast way of earning flash cash and accessibility into the open pit is very easy.

PJV’s fencing project around the mine will not stop the illegal miners. I know they will still cut the fence and go in. The only resolution is to quickly resettle the SML landowners and then killings and deaths will subside.

Thanks
Mawii
Papua New Guinea

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Sir,

The analysis of Jim Lobe omits one important aspect. It forgets to mention the defiance of Iran
Openly and acceptance of it by USA especially the spin about nukes of Iran. The fighting by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hugo Chavez’s defiance and the most important of all is emergence of another super power Putins Russia without dependence on external forces for its energy security.

Captain Johann Samuhanand

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Dear editors,

I read with interest you article. I thought you might be interested in some work I have done to provide real time updates on Chinese air quality, and also considered how the air quality health indices compare to more conventional standards around the world. I was surprised to see how they bias their health indices to indicate air that is polluted is rated as healthy.

See http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1115249/an/0/page/0/vc/1

Bob Wenzlau
Palo Alto, CA

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Dear Editor,

Didn’t Rush Limbaugh have a song about bombing Iraq back to the stone age? Do you suppose he is proud now? May God have mercy on the people.

Donna Uhlin

*****

Dear Editors,

I believe that everyone, Europe and elsewhere know now the real reason for the invasion of Iraq, and they seem to be worse off now than before, especially the women. As for reading that more Marines are dying because of lack in weapons, perhaps, Bush should be at fault, for sending the troops there in the first place.

Martha Eskridge

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Dear Editors,

Very interesting article. You are becoming just like the USA, meaning that ‘Big Business’ dictates most everything in our lives. Forever now, farmers will have to purchase seeds from one or two companies. In a generation there may be no other seeds available, as the GM, through wind, insects, birds, etc., will transport them to existing crops without GM and they will marry and produce only profits for the companies as their second generation seeds will be sterile. Good luck and hope you can persuade your government not to do it. We could not here, as big business is in control. Hopefully you still can affect change and save your country and perhaps the future of the planet.

Terry Reynolds

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Dear Editors,

How much is an apology to cost? It’s a great gesture, but if it plays out like the one here in Canada, the real beneficiaries are not the victims but the class action negotiators and commercial vultures who were quick to separate victims from their awards. The Tasmanian government plan seems most pragmatic, providing victim identification is manageable. A set amount per person paid promptly, and the right to pursue further compensation on an individual basis seems fair.

Geoff Scott
(ex-NSW central west)
Strathmore, Alberta
Canada

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Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Nader. I have been a refugee from 1999 in Greece until present. I have applied for political asylum in 99 and in 2005 I was rejected because I am a protestant Christian. I am a missionary working with International Teams (www.iteams.org) working with those on the Refugee Highway. I have also been a Pastor of a Persian Church from May 14, 2000 until present. Also I have been involved with the satellite broadcast preaching and teaching among the middle east and also been officer financial development of Persian Christian Consulate in Europe. With all this experience and occupation I have been continually rejected for asylum and telling me that I came here for economically good life. I am not only a Christian but have been active in many different organizations. Because of this my life is in danger from persecution and execution from my home country of Iran. I am contacting you after reading this article: RIGHTS: Norway Finds Greece Cannot Be Trusted With Migrants by Apostolis Fotiadis to let you know that the life of a Refugee in Greece is bad and there is no help or future for Refugees here. For those who have documents to prove that their lives are in danger are still rejected. For Human Rights this is unacceptable.

Nader Mohajer
Persian Christian Fellowship
http://refminathens.blogspot.com
Athens, Greece

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Dear Editors,

Moving to Northern Saskatchewan from Salt Spring Island may have saved my life. There are ‘help wanted’ signs in the store windows, and houses start at around $5,000. Firewood can be gathered free, and while the scenery is low relief, the hills are continuous and there are many lakes. Per capita, there may be more artists than on the coast. The best assets to bring would be a camper or a gas-sipping car.

Best,

Bob Stuart

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Dear Editors,

Not all NGO’s in the Philippines are opposed to the US soldiers having joint exercises with Philippine troops. You make it sound as such. I suppose that sells more newspapers.

Albert Munroe

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Dear Editors,

What has become of Admiral Fallon? I have not heard his name mentioned since the flap with Petraeus. Thank you in advance for your response.

Regards,
Joseph Barbetta

*****

Dear Editors,

Since when did a Naval Officer know anything about conducting a land war? His current appointment will prove to be a major mistake.

Major General Jay Edwards (Ret.)

*****

Dear Editors,

That was Sept 12. I haven’t heard anything since on cable news or anywhere else. Not even updates on the blogs. What happened - was it squashed by the Bush Admin?

Regards,

Joe Barbetta.

*****

Dear Editors,

Your report on Admiral Fallon’s ‘’report'’ which is not really a report because Bush and his henchman would never allow it to get any meaningful coverage. I heard it only once on cable news, it was either Chris Matthews or Keith Olbermann, and I have heard nothing since. Naively, I expected this to be a bombshell, but as you know it died a quiet death which, I believe, is symptomatic of our new Democratic ‘’leadership'’. Where is the outrage against this repressive, clandestine, totalitarian regime called the Bush administration? How does a man so delusional continue to commit acts of great harm with tepid and impotent opposition from congress and the american people? especially considering his disapproval ratings of 70%. I commend you, sir, on your unflinching report of an ‘’almost'’ report. I could go on, but I’m sure you’ve heard it all. I simply wanted to thank you.

Regards,

Joe Barbetta
Wanaque, N.J.

*****

Dear Editor,

Americans need to hear more from Admiral Fallon. Please do what you can to urge him to speak directly to the American people. Our nation is being run by oil men and their motivation appears to be greed. We need non-political honest assessment of the Iraq situation. Few believe our president or his messengers. This is a world wide crisis. Thank you for printing the article about Adm. Fallon.

Melisa Moriarty
San Diego, CA - US

*****

The story might have been compelling if the atrocious English composition techniques had not been in the way. Porter may well be a fine historian or whatever, but he is no writer. How this drivel got past the editor is a complete mystery to this reader.

George Gonder

*****

The Admiral’s views should be front page news and being heard by congress at the very least as expert opinion. How can we expect to make the best decision for our country and for our fighting forces without hearing from our best minds?

George Webber

*****

There are multiple typos, syntax errors and missing words in this piece.
Regards,

Kent Matheson

*****

Thanks. I hope you get conventional media coverage.

Robert Burns
San Diego CA U.S

*****

No one should be surprised that Gen. Petraeus is known as an apple polisher for his superiors. Even as the lowest of enlisted men in the Air Force it was evident to me that big time officers were the worst kind of brown noses. As in the rest of the work world, assholes like Petraeus move up and no one pays any attention to good men like Gen.

Lonzie Cox Jr.
US

*****

I recently heard of your article on Admiral Fallon. Why doesn’t our wimpy Congress and Senate invite him to a public hearing to present his views. He sure is not a Bush/Petraeus sycophant. Wow I thought all our heroes had disappeared.
Sincerely,

Martin Errick

*****

Dear editor,

Thank you so very much for this piece on the tensions between Petraeus and Admiral Fallon. I sure wish we could get this out to the greater American public! Again, thank you so much…
Sincerely,

Vaxen Var
US

*****

Dear Editor:

Well, Fallon is absolutely right. How do you convince people that the surge is going to work when your first target Afghanistan is failing miserably, because the Taliban have free and unfitted access to their bases in Pakistan. This is no way to run a war at least Fallon understands the problems on the ground. Petraeus is as useless now as a new born child all he knows is yes and that is down right dangerous.

David Stanley
Canada

*****

Dear Editor:

A vital and important tonic to the spin we get on Iraq. The backgrounds of the Generals very important in trying to understand this mess. Our National strength relies on an honest difference of opinions, given enough contexts to understand those differences. Thank you for providing media leadership.

Robert Darling

*****

Dear Editor:

Thank you for publishing this article. Please continue publishing real news.

John Shippey
US

*****

Dear Editor:

This tells me if Fallon resigns we are in a world of hurt!

Jean E. Faris

*****

Dear Editor:

When Admiral Fallon was first considered for his present job I feared that his experience and temperament meant that a war with Iran was inevitable - that he was another critical piece being put into place to make it happen. You can not imagine the relief and pride that I am feeling after reading your piece on the Admiral’s relationship and opinion of elements of the present Iraq strategy. Thanks for a good article.

George Currier

*****

Dear Editors,

If this story it to be believed, it sounds like sour grapes on the complaining officer’s part. Isn’t he getting enough attention? Or does he want the position? There is an old saying about judging a man until you have walked in his shoes for three moons. Having worked with the military during WWII - it sounds like it is a case of sheer sour. Grapes that this man did not get the position. After watching the hearings. There was comfort in having such a strong leader in that position and not some hot head. Looking for a glory ride. Ever a drill sgt.

Madge

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Dear Editors,

Macedonia is bin Macedonia will be Macedonia with or without the consent of Greece or the world. Macedonia is been recognized by 120 countries as Rep, of Macedonia not 117 as Mr. Rigos stetted! Stop the Greek forgers claming that Macedonia is Greek, Macedonia was annex 1913 and given a piece of the pie to Greece. God is with Macedonia and justice is near!

Regards,
George Saragilov

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Dear Editors,

I wonder if Bush will hint of war with Egypt, because they disobeyed him?

Martha Eskridge

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Dear Editor,

Please allow me to give you a few financial facts about the damage immigrants can wreak on your Country.

Excerpts from the: Executive Summary: The Fiscal Cost of Low-Skill Immigrants to the U.S. Taxpayer by Robert E. Rector and Christine Kim with the Heritage Foundation. May 21, 2007 Special Report #14 when the benefits and services received by one group exceed the taxes paid, a distributional deficit occurs, and other groups must pay for the services and benefits of the group in deficit.

In fiscal year (FY) 2004 there were around 4.5 million low-skill immigrant households in the United States, containing 15.9 million persons, roughly 5% of the U.S. population. About 60% of these low-skill immigrant households were headed by legal immigrants and 40% by illegal immigrants. In general, low-skill immigrant households received about $10,000 more in government benefits than did the average U.S. household low-skill immigrant households received nearly three dollars in immediate benefits and services for each dollar in taxes paid. Average annual fiscal deficit for low-skill immigrant households was nearly twice the amount of taxes paid. The average lifetime costs to the taxpayer will be nearly $1.2 million for each low-skill household for immediate benefits received minus all taxes paid. Over the next ten years, the net cost (benefits minus taxes) to the taxpayer of low-skill immigrant households will approach $1 trillion.

Benefits include:

Direct benefits, which include Social Security, Medicare, and a few smaller transfer programs;
Means-tested benefits, including cash, food, housing, social services, and medical care for poor and near-poor individuals; Public educational services, which include the governmental cost of primary, secondary, vocational, and post-secondary education; Population-based services, which are government services made available to a general community, including police and fire protection, highways, sewers, food safety inspection, and parks.

The following information was excerpted from Numbers USA. Some Americans and lawmakers make the common error to think that unemployment figures measure people without jobs. Rather, they measure only those people who are actively looking for jobs and have signed up with government unemployment agencies. The potential labour pool is far larger than the government reports because so many people are not in the labour market at all for the following reasons:

They were laid off and ran out of unemployment benefits;
They stopped work because of illness, injury, pregnancy and they didn’t have enough incentive to look for a job or the jobs weren’t attractive enough; They failed to find a job for so long that they gave up; or They are disabled (the vast majority of disabled Americans cannot get a job)

What is clear is that the last five years have seen a record level of immigration. At the same time, the unemployment rate of less-educated natives has remained high and the share that have left the labour force altogether has grown significantly. Wage growth has also generally been weak. [1]

Between 2000 and 2005, 4.1 million immigrant workers arrived from abroad, accounting for 86% of the net increase in the total number of employed persons (16 and older), the highest share ever recorded in the United States. Of the 4.1 million new immigrant workers, between 1.4 and 2.7 million are estimated to be illegal immigrants. This means that illegal immigrants accounted for up to 56% of the net increase in civilian employment in the United States over the past five years.

Between 2000 and 2005, the number of young (16 to 34) native-born men who were employed declined by 1.7 million; at the same time, the number of new male immigrant workers increased by 1.9 million. It appears that employers are substituting new immigrant workers for young native-born workers. The estimated sizes of these displacement effects were frequently quite large. [2]

Excerpts from the: Immigration Is Hurting The U.S. Worker

Low Paid American workers have borne the heaviest impact of immigration. By Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research Center for Immigration Studies. U.S. Census Bureau data indicate that 1.6 million legal and illegal immigrants settle in the country each year. The average would be 32,000 people added to each of the 50 States in the Union every year. Legal and illegal immigrants now account for one out of every eight persons living in the United States. The percentage of employed native-born without a high school degree fell from 53 to 48% in the last five years. The disproportionate flow of undereducated immigrants to the U.S. has also depressed wages for native-born workers on the lower rungs of the economic ladder. In the last two-and-a-half decades, average hourly wages for male workers with less than a high school education declined more than 20% relative to inflation. For those with only a high school degree they are down almost 10%.

Wages and benefits have generally stagnated or declined for the less educated. Hourly wages for men with less than a high school education grew just 1% between 2000 and 2005. Hourly wages for men with only a high school degree declined by .5% between 2000 and 2005. The share of employers providing health insurance has also declined. [3]

Even if one conceded that allowing in less-educated immigrants is bad for less-educated Americans, are there any economic benefits from immigration? The best research on the subject shows that if there is a benefit it is tiny or ‘’miniscule,'’ in the words of the nation’s top immigration economist, George Borjas of Harvard University. The NAS study found that by reducing the wages of the least-educated Americans (about 10% of the population), immigration generated an economic benefit for the rest of society equal to just two-tenths of 1% of their income.

“Between 1890 and 1915 wages grew more slowly in those American cities where the proportion of immigrants grew fastest.” - Claudia Goldin, an economic historian at Harvard. [4]

Excerpts from the: Fewer migrants mean more benefits as immigration enforcement takes hold; jobs begin to open up to less-skilled Americans. By Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies. Los Angeles Times, September 24, 2007

The Arizona Republic ran a story last month explaining how migrants were leaving the state in anticipation of tough new immigration rules. Public radio station WBUR in Boston reported that “in the midst of the debate about immigrants coming to America, something unusual is happening in Massachusetts: Brazilian immigrants are quietly packing up and leaving.” And the Chicago Tribune, reporting on the Pennsylvania town at the forefront of the resistance to illegal immigration, has written that “over the summer, when Hazleton officials created the nation’s first ordinance aimed at driving away undocumented residents, thousands of people apparently packed up and left.”

Far from having “unhappy consequences,” these developments are improving the economic bargaining power of less-skilled American workers. The Rocky Mountain News reported that in Greeley, Colo., “the line of applicants hoping to fill jobs vacated by undocumented workers taken away by immigration agents at the Swift & Co. meat-processing plant… was out the door.”
New England Cable News reported that only after a raid on a plant making leather goods for the military in New Bedford, Mass., were Americans and legal immigrants able to get hired.

When illegal aliens were removed from a Crider Poultry plant in Stillmore, Ga., the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the Wall Street Journal documented the benefits to local workers.
The plant raised wages significantly, began offering free shuttles from nearby towns and provided free rooms in a company-owned dormitory.

For the first time, Crider sought applicants from the state unemployment office and began hiring probationers and men from a local homeless mission. As recent enforcement victories are sustained and expanded, we can begin to document the benefits in other areas: less stress on hospital emergency rooms, less-crowded classrooms, slower growth in government social spending.

[1] Dropping Out Immigrant Entry and Native Exit From the Labour Market, 2000-2005 By Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research, at the Center for Immigration Studies.
[2] Young Native-Born Workers, 2000-2005 September 2006 By Andrew Sum, Paul Harrington, and Ishwar Khatiwada for the Center for Immigration Studies.
[3] Testimony Prepared for the House Judiciary Committee May 9, 2007 by Steven A. Camarota Director of Research for the Center for Immigration Studies.
[4] Quote from Numbers USA Website.

Sincerely,
Stephanie Galonska
U.S.

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Dear Editors,

It is mixed emotions but I agree the Chinese agreement with Congo is a promising way to kick-start the Congolese economy. I cannot believe the Europeans and Americans failed to see the significance of Congo’s natural resources and economic potential. Congo is crucial to our current Digital Revolution. The “Cold War” is over but the “Economic War” is just beginning! I guess the collective Western world like to give the adversaries a running start before we enter the world. So, Congo may be a pawn again in the war between giant. This time, I hope the Congolese government takes care of the people and improve the infrastructure of the country.

Woody M. Collins
President Congo Helping Hands
“Strengthening the Heart of Africa”
Website: http://www.CongoHelpingHands.org

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Dear Editors,

History simply repeats itself because the scriptwriters have been the same since 1139 AD. I myself feel fortunate to have been granted the god given opportunity in the autumn of my life, to read about someone like Chavez, a modern day Sir William Wallace. It is as clear as it will ever be to anyone that studies history via the Internet, there essentially can be no democracies embracing raw capitalism. It’s evil and allows the rapacious mentality of a few, to control the masses at home and abroad via media control, they own everything and everyone through forced debt, possession of that mass indoctrination tool, the media and Hollywood, the insidious demagogues of enslavement by endless deceptions and silencing the truth. Corporate justice and philanthropy are all media sponsored and maintained illusions and deceptions with the only power in these states being the banks, the IMF, World Bank, and that circus called the UN of which Exxon is simply a tentacle.

The three aforementioned terms are synonyms for absolutism, a noun representing only one entity, currency and those few private hands that control it. Exxon is no different than the United Fruit Company which had US secret service people like the Dulles brothers sitting on their board and which raped the Americas and enslaved their people for hundreds of years. The courts, the lawyers, international law; they are all owned and controlled by a small handful of suits which now have the philanthropist and liberator Hugo Chavez in their sights. Whether it was during the sugar-ocracy, the coffee empires, precious metals, now oil, you name it, the indigenous peoples never benefited but rather, were enslaved, impoverished, murdered and sacrificed by the Midas God worshipping demonic monarchist and now capitalists. The people at home were and are fed mainstream media rubbish and at the best, ambiguous truths.

Quote, ‘’Critics protest the fact that neoliberal policies give multinational corporations economic power over democratically elected governments, as these corporations can use their abilities to withdraw or infuse capital (and therefore affect jobs and the economy) as a tool to have governments do as they say.'’ Exxon is the IMF and World Bank, International law is the IMF and World Bank, the multibillion dollar drug trade is the IMF and the World Bank, taxes, the rape of the planet, and human suffering is the IMF and the World Bank. The NYC twin towers was the IMF and the World Bank, so good luck and blessings to Saint Chavez. The world needs you and more like you but our press will not allow dissemination of the this truth, we just let the Oil Corporations rob us blind, and will soon live on hope rations. If Chavez led Canada, which has everything imaginable, we would get an annual federal rebate cheque, not be the highest taxed country in the world.

Thomas Bendoraitis
Canada

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Dear Editors,

I have to ask of what use are UN soldiers in any situation of national crisis apart from making up numbers. If they stand 300 metres away from a seriously injured man and impotently refuse help then they are useless and should be disbanded. They are an impotent force anyway and taxpayers money should not be wasted on them.

Greta Bowman

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Dear Editor,

I think Mr. Easterly’s study is a way for countries that have not done their share to help Sub-Saharan Africa and other poverty-endemic regions to feel good. Let’s lower the MDG goals so that Africa looks good then we can pat ourselves on the back. The MDG is fair and should stay in place as written.

Woody M. Collins
President Congo Helping Hands
“Strengthening the Heart of Africa”
website: http://www.CongoHelpingHands.org
blog: http://woodycollins.typepad.com/ending_extreme_poverty_in

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Dear Editors,

If the “stimulus” funds from Mr. Bush’s tax return proposal were put into clean energy funds instead, we could solve this problem much quicker. Of course, his plan is to make sure people use those precious funds to buy merchants’ superfluous junk instead.

Kate De Braose
U.S.

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