Mr. Peter Eustace
Cable and Wireless

Dear Mr. Eustace,

I was extremely happy to read in the Panamanian Newspapers today that your company had received a judgment against it for 60 million dollars plus. Although it should have been the entire 128 million dollars they stole, it was a small step forward in eradicating CW from our small country. The absolute lack of business ethics, moral turpitude, and the practice of preditory business have kept the entire nation of Panama as unwilling hostages for long enough. Cable and wireless' recent (and hopefully temporary) success in eliminating internet from the reach of everyone in the country was the last straw. If they cannot advance on their own merit, then there is no reason to penalize everyone else. There has never been much evidence that CW has any ability or expertise within the realm of communications here in Panama. They cannot get an account straight, not residential, not corporate, not celular, and least of all internet. They have not really demonstrated any ability, except to be the bully for an entire nation.

As we approach a "free market" within the next 31 days or so, CW will try to make the public think they can funcion in a competitive environment; reducing prices, offering services they should have offered all along, etc... I think the astute and straight-thinking customer would have to reject CW even if their services were free, to make restitution for the ruin they have brought upon all of us. Each and every time I speak to one of your employees, I end the conversation with "get an honest job; it's not worth your life" --- and I've been doing it for over three years. Happily, today, not a single one of them defends his employer. You know why? Because it is me and a half million others saying it to them every day. And, now it looks like we can either put you in an environment where you will compete obecome extinct. Go away. Get into arms and munitions, or become litigation lawyers, or hook up with Al Quaeda --- you may have some expertise there.

J. Embrey Koonce
Panama

In the context of the current debate within the Caribbean over the future of the region’s three semi-privatised loss making airlines Air Jamaica, BWIA and LIAT and the two 100% government owned airlines, Bahamasair and Cayman Airways, the recently announced alliance between Quantas and Air New Zealand to create a strong Australasian regional airline group, may be of interest to your readers.

Under that proposed alliance both airlines would maintain their separate corporate and marketing identities with rationalised scheduling and planning in the initial stages followed by integration in other areas such as purchasing, aircraft, maintenance specialisation etc. to enhance efficiency and profitability with the option for complete integration left for later decision based on the success of the initial stages.

That two major international airlines in two mature economies see the need for such co-operation to remain competitive in today’s international aviation market should cause the airlines in the Caribbean to rethink their aversion to a similar solution.

Few disinterested observers now question the need for the airlines of the Caribbean to form a strong regional alliance with the network, size and scale to be profitable to end once and for all their common reliance on the region’s taxpayers for support.

One relatively modest practical step towards a regional airline solution for the Caribbean could be for the governments of Jamaica and Trinidad to transfer their airline shares (in Air Jamaica, Air Jamaica Express, BWIA and LIAT) to a jointly owned holding company ("Airlines of the Caribbean") to be established and owned by them with a specific mandate to work towards regional airline integration.

Other regional governments including those with a shareholding in LIAT could be invited to participate. The actual ownership percentage is probably not all that material in economic terms (although no doubt it will be politically) as all the airlines have a negative net worth. The Cayman Islands and the Bahamas which own their own loss making airlines could also be included within the proposed structure.

The "Airlines of the Caribbean" holding company would function as a private company working with the other shareholders of the airlines to achieve its objective.

The airlines involved would continue to operate as individual airlines with cost svaing integration in scheduling, planning, purchasing etc. developing through agreements fostered by the holding company backed by its shareholding powers.

An agreement between the shareholder governments that all future financial assistance for the airlines involved would be made through the holding company would give it significantly enhanced influence especially among the semi-privatised airlines who have come to rely on their government rather than their private sector shareholders for financial support when losses have been incurred.

I suggest this as a practical and painless initial step that the regional governments could make to underline their commitment to an integrated regional airline system which would give the proposed airline holding company considerable influence to move the airlines through agreement to greater integration and efficiency.

The integration of the three major semi-privatised airlines (Air Jamaica, BWIA and LIAT), either alone or with the addition of Cayman Airways and Bahamasair, has the potential to provide an integrated, efficient and profitable air transport system for intra and extra regional travel with the scale to compete effectively.

Competition intra regionally will continue to exist from the likes of Caribbean Star/CaribbeanSun and the newly independent AmericanEagle while extra regional competition will continue to be provided by the major US, Canadian and UK carriers.

Without some degree of integration the airlines of the Caribbean will continue to sustain losses that can only be covered by the taxpayers in a regime that if history tell us anything will involve a predictable cycle of increasing not diminishing losses.

John P.T. Gilmore
Edinburgh, Scotland

First, I was, am, and hopefully will always be a Canal Zone/Panamanian. You are to be complimented. A very learned article (Lecture at Oxford) but especially your insight into how language shapes our personalities. I left the Zone in 1943 to become a naval Aviator and I realize now that the education I received as a child on the Zone, and from my Panamanian friends and relatives, also shaped my life toward becoming a Civil Engineer, Naval Officer, Aviator and continuing into Behavioral Science. Plus a career in Manufacturing Management.

I may have left Panama but it has never left me.

My sincere regards. Panama is fortunate to have such an advocate as yourself.

James W. Mc Ilvaine
New Braunfels, Texas

I found both "The Thorns of the Rose" by William D. Donadio, and your book entitled 9 degrees north --- excellent reads. But I noticed something very interesting about Mr. Donadio’s book, which in my judgment taints the quality of his memoir.

What happened to Donadio’s brothers, Albert and Jimmy? His siblings were only mentioned twice throughout the entire book. First they were introduced as follows: "Two more brothers were born, but they never had to endure the hardships that Rose, Adela, Tony, and I had suffered." It is quite apparent from this sentence, that the brothers are treated as incidental subjects. Confoundlingly, the author felt it was more important to juxtapose his siblings’ privations, rather than to introduce his brothers by their names.

The second and final reference of Albert and Jimmy was as follows: "My mother was left to take care of my two daughters in the company of Albert and Jimmy" Now, I don’t purport myself to be psychoanalyst, nor did I concentrate in any of the disciplines of behavioral science while in college --- but there is clearly something amiss here. If you still remain unconvinced of my skepticism, please review the, "I dedicate this book to" section of the book.

I suspect Mr. Donadio intentionally excluded imperfect material about, his brothers or his relationship with them, for the purpose of creating a near picture perfect autobiography. The only occasions in which adversity appeared relevant for discussion, is when it was used as point of measurement for educational and financial achievement. This is not to say Donadio’s discussion of deprivation was inappropriate. In fact, I consider its discussion a relevant and necessary component of all memoirs. The point being, written work of this kind should reflect the total experience. If the author desires is to establish parameters for what he wishes to write about, then these strictures need to be consistent with the theme of the book. What occurred in this case, is a situation in which the brothers were mentioned, but not considered; included, but unimportant. A perfect memoir is an imperfect one. To make us of the title of Charles Barkley’s newly released book, "I could be wrong, but I doubt it."

Review: "Learning English is more than memorizing a bunch of words:" Mark Twain --- excellent selection for greatest American writer. What do you think about the Ralph Ellison’s "Invisible Man" as a choice for greatest American novel?

Alfred
Maryland

Editor's note: Ralph Ellison's book is clearly one of the great works of American literature, but there's a lot of competition out there and I won't get into superlatives about such a subjective topic because my opinion might change with my mood. I think first of "Huckleberry Finn," "The Old Man and the Sea" and several science fiction books when I ponder your question.

After reading a letter in your letters section, I went to the Costa Rican paper mentioned. I found that format they use is slightly easier to read, but having to scroll around to complete the article is a pain. Due to the limitations of a computer screen, bounced to the length of an article I find your format easier to read and faster to complete. If it were possible to format their format into two columns which would fit onto an average screen and eliminate the up and down thing with the mouse, it might have an advantage, but it probably would be counterproductive and complicate things far more than it would help

Bill