letters

This issue's letters to the editor...

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro

Rumor control

Is it true that the ACP has hired the Tulivieja to take NO supporters away in the night and turn them into arroz con mondongo to serve at the president's campaign events?

name withheld

Editor's note: You're confused. The canal administration has an "English only" hiring policy for its expert consultants. It's the Bogeyman that's working for the "yes" campaign. The Tulivieja and the Llorona are campaigning for the "no" side.

Panama's racist ways?

I tend to disagree with your comments about this sign. If you notice the first address at the top of the sign is El Puente de las Americas, and the following distances are those of provinces or towns leading in the west direction of the city, to the east is Chepo, Cerro Azul and Darien, to the north is Colon, Portobelo, Sabanitas, And to the south is Panama City. So why would you expect this sign to have Colon included if Colon is in the opposite direction. For people not familiar with the geographic locations of these cities your comment will seem validated and truly racist. If you are headed east in any major highway in the world, why should you expect distances for west directions to be included in that same sign? don't you think it will add to the confusion? I truly believe your comment of racism to be unfounded. Try again.

Max Sena

Editor's note: This letter is about something from our travel section archives. See http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_12/issue_12/travel_01.html for the item that offended the reader and above for the photo in qeustion. Let me point out a couple of things:

1. Notice that overpass behind the sign? That's the entrance to the Corredor Norte, the quickest way around city traffic to Colon. The sign here is next to the Transistmica, which also goes, admittedly in the other direction, to Colon. To get to the Bridge of the Americas from this point, one must make a right a few hundred meters up the road, then drive through Curundu and the slums of Hollywood, then take a left and proceed past Brooklyncito, El Chorrillo and Amador.

2. Driving in the same direction as one must go on the Pan-American Highway past the Bridge of the Americas to get to the destinations on the sign is also the way to drive to Bocas del Toro, which is also ignored on the sign.

Somebody responsible for this sign, for whatever reason, made a decision that distances to the predominantly black Atlantic side were unimportant to travelers. As one who grew up on the Atlantic side I can tell you that such things happen a lot in many phases of Panamanian national life and many Atlantic siders get offended by it. There is usually some innocuous excuse proffered, as often as not accompanied by some remark about people being too sensitive.

Amnesty International's prejudiced report

The report alleging war crimes by Hezbollah --- how biased can you be in shifting responsibility from the actual practicioners of genocide --- the Israelis --- to the people of Palestine and the people of Lebanon, to the resistance fighters of Lebanon?

Amnesty International is an utter disgrace, which serves merely as an echoing parrot for monetary and political elitists of America and its Mid-Eastern satellite elitist in what in reality is occupied Palestine.

In 40 years of echoing the positions of the above AI has never once spoken out on the subject of how the Palestinian peoples' country and their belongings were divested from them in order to be bestowed illegally upon the Israelis.

And further, that at such time that dastardly deed was by the USA , and the West carried out under the banner of the United Nations, practically all Third World peoples had no iota of representation in the so called United Nations but instead were under the yoke of colonialism, and the most populous nation, the Peoples' Republic of China, was denied and prohibited from any and all participation in that so-called "United Nations."

Indeed, it was a United Nations embodied in the exploitation of peoples of the Third world then as today, it is the same powers (who then were colonialists) that caused the illegal imposition of Israel. Now as neo-colonialists they are oppressing millions of peoples in the Middle Eastern countries, while at the same time exploiting the same countries and subjects thereof in the interests of themselves and the Israelis.

Humanity International places the war crimes charges rightfully where they belong --- upon the culprit, the Israelis who used deliberate and intentional means and methods of warfare to indiscriminately annihilate all human beings of the slamic religion who resided in the country of Lebanon, and what is left of the country of Palestine. They, aided by the Americans and the British and those governments of countries who through uniting with each other, could have stopped the genocidal criminals before the highly prejudicial UN ceasefire gave to the Israelis what they could never have won --- but those governments did nothing but get on bended knees and continue to leave it to the discretions of the Americans and British to kill, destroy, maim and mutilate into the thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians. They are the war criminals and should be recognized, charged and convicted as such, notwithstanding the prejudiced, biased and soon-to-be-discredited report calling the victims the war criminals.

Efil Sih

Humanity International Worldwide

Editor's note: Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it. Whether by bombarding noncombatant Lebanese civilians with laser-guided munitions launched from aircraft or by bombarding noncombatant Israeli civilians with poorly guided ground-to-ground rockets, there were plenty of war crimes to go around in the recent violence. The world would be a better place if Muslims, Jews, Christians and people of other beliefs and of all nationalities would embrace the ethic that there are no chosen people who are above international law, nor are there inferior people who have no rights that everyone must respect. Amnesty International takes upon itself a rather narrow but still vital part of the worldwide defense of human rights, and in that course of that work has actually had many critical things to say about Israel.

Purge the left (1)

Why all the leftist rhetoric in your newspaper? I was hoping for a balanced perspective on events in Panama and was surprised that what may be the only news source written in English appears to be left leaning. Your magazine may draw a larger, balanced and better educated readership if some semblance of balance is achieved in your reporting. Just a word to the wise.

Brett

Purge the left (2)

"Among the prime movers behind the removal of Endara, his supporters charge, was the rightist organization Opus Dei, which has enjoyed the favor of the current pope. Pope Benedict comes from an ultra-conservative social milieu --- in fact he was a Hitler Youth, although he says he had no choice in the matter at the time --- and since ascending the papal throne he has moved to eliminate leftist, pro-labor or anti-corporate ideas from the Catholic media worldwide, get rid of electric musical instruments in Catholic ceremonies and functions and generally present a more conservative face to the world."

("Héctor Endara fired as CARITAS coordinator," in the September 3 - 16, 2006 issue.)

What a distorted view of the Catholic faith, and what an insulting way to talk about the Holy Father. I hadn't taken you to be a bigot, but maybe I was wrong.

Gerardo

Editor's note: The pope has not considered himself above dishing out harsh criticism of other people's religious views, including those of large segments of people within his own church. Indeed, he wouldn't be a leader of a true faith if he didn't have some strongly held opinions. But that also makes him a public figure subject to public scrutiny.

Given the Catholic Church's influence in this country, and the political role that it has historically played in this region --- remember that the struggle for Latin America's independence from Spain was in large part a showdown between freemasonry and the Catholic hierarchy, with the latter supporting the Spanish crown --- the pope's background and attitudes, and the church's actions under his guidance, from time to time become relevant to the story of what's going on in Panama.