letters

Readers' divergent concerns

That line through the Darien jungle?

In looking at Google Earth, I see a straight line in the Darien, between Yaviza and Pinogano. The photos of this area are low-resolution and dated, but it looks like a road. From Pinogana, what appears to be a road meanders West and South for a few miles; the surrounding hills appear to have been logged. I understood the Pan-American Highway was not going to be extended past Yaviza. Is the Panamanian goverment actually working on this section? How's the paving of the road to Yaviza going?

Joe Myers

Tucson Arizona

Editor's note: Slowly but surely, the Pan-American Highway to Yaviza is being paved. Parts have had to be redone, and between Meteti and Yaviza it was really horrible the last time I rode on it, about a year and one-half ago. What you see around Pinogana are in fact roads, which, however, are not connected across the river to Yaviza and the Pan-American Highway.

Mr. Ivan Simic's letter on Neo Warfare

Mr. Simic seems to forget the good that at least one war has brought to the world, of course he leaves it out because it negates his argument that no war has ever served any nation any good. The American Revolutionary War which gave birth to the United States of America is one war that has served not only the nation but the entire world as well. Maybe Mr. Simic doesn't see that as a good thing since maybe he was on the wrong side of the butt kicking that happened in Serbia that put the butcher Milosevic in prison. Come to think of it I do believe it was the involvement of the United States that brought an end to WWI and WWII which by the way started in and by those "sophisticated" countries in Europe which have now formed the EU. I'm glad to see that he at least recognized that the EU won't last because one of those sophisticated countries will decide they want to be in charge of that union. As a result that country that was formed as a result of the American Revolutionary War will have to come referee in Europe yet again.

Allen H. Cotton

A proud Panamanian-American

Sorry Eric

I'm tired of Under Construction. If you can't do it right don't do it at all: leave it out.

Jeffrey Hopkins

Pedasi

On the other hand

I very much enjoy your writing style, your collection of opion pieces, and, of course, the wonderful quotes you present for contemplation. As a native Zonian living in the States, though my heart is in Gorgona, Panama, I appreciate the view from the outside world, which is invariably different from that found here, as well as far more accurate, in my opinion.

Best wishes for continued success, and, hey, even "perfect" people aren't perfect all the time --- I still get my ankles wet when walking on water --- so it's OK by me if you take a day off now and then to rev up your creative juices for an ever better effort to be enjoyed... by me!

Aurora E. Hunter

India should mobilize International

community to clear nuclear mess

If one goes by the sense of great loss being felt by most of the Indians in case Indo-US nuclear deal for civil energy gets aborted (in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties being faced by government of India in getting this deal operationalized, in the face of resistance not only from opposition parties but also from leftists on who's out side support government is in power at center) then one can easily comprehend such great loss must be being felt by most of the mankind which are non-nuclear nations.

Mankind would certainly like to and should harness nuclear energy for civil use in order to better the lives of the people all over the world.

But the way nuclear matters are being handled in a most irresponsible manner by UN / international community, it deserves the most serious and honest attention of the entire mankind as given below, in order to ensure that not only nuclear energy is made available to entire mankind for civil use but also unnecessary conflicts and troubles are avoided which are most likely to surface due to unjust nuclear policies of the nuke possessing nations:

(1) It is the chosen profession of the most brave and patriotic citizens to join the armed forces of their country. Hence it is the professional duty of the armed forces of any country to not only kill the armed forces of enemy country but also in the process get killed in any war. It is unethical and it is no bravery to kill the civilians (including women, children and old people) in any war. Hence weapons of mass destruction including nuclear, are to be shunned by mankind.

(2) United Nations was supposed to get the mankind entirely rid of nuclear weapons. But due to its derelictions countries including permanent members of UN, India, Pakistan etc. have been able to develop / get these nuclear weapons of mass destruction despite NPT regime (including IAEA, NSG etc.) which is patently discriminatory.

(3) What is most amazing is that these nuclear nations though themselves possess nukes but sermonize all other nations, to desist from acquiring these nukes, some times by persuasion but mostly by threats including threats of sanctions of every kind.

(4) The funniest sermons are the rhetoric form USA which is the only country so far who has exploded nuclear bombs (in Hiroshima and Nagasaki of Japan therefore en-mass killing and maiming the Japanese) but has the cheek and exhorts entire mankind to believe that every non-nuclear nation may posses and explode nukes (if USA is not vigilant). Hence such non-nuclear nations are potentially irresponsible nations that is why USA and its cohorts should decide the nuclear policy in the interest of the safety and security of the entire mankind --- so goes the arguments of USA.

(5) Here it is in context to add that before testing in 1998, had India given a six months open notice to UN / world community --- "that India will test nuclear bomb (in view of other countries possessing and acquiring it especially its neighbors China and Pakistan with whom India has unresolved border dispute) if world community / UN does not strive to get mankind entirely rid of these nuclear weapons of mass destruction (while retaining nuclear energy for civil use) within in a time bound program of say another one year." Then the entire world would have been much better different, as for as nuclear scenario is concerned.

(So much for the commitment of Gandhian India towards civilized and peaceful world).

India (which is uniquely placed in view of his being a developing country, nuke possessing nation, largest functioning democracy of 1130 million people and emerging powerful economy with consistent GDP growth rate of above 8%) should make a course correction and should immediately mobilize the world community / UN to clear this nuclear mess in order to ensure that entire mankind may use nuclear energy for civil purposes for the betterment of the lives of the people all over the world while taking due care that the world is effectively and completely rid of nuclear power for military purposes.

Hem Raj Jain

New Delhi, India

Impeachment packet

If impeachment is not put on the table, “an omnipotent, repressive and secret presidency is inescapable,” states Bruce Fein, a conservative constitutional lawyer and associate deputy attorney general under Ronald Reagan. Fein is the author of the forthcoming book: Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle of Our Constitution and Democracy.

The call for Congress to impeach President George W. Bush and/or Vice President Richard B. Cheney, and Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales is becoming the call of tens of thousands of Americans, liberal, conservative, and independent alike.

The charges raised reflect serious violation of the US Constitution: misleading and false statements as a precursor to war, illegal spying on US citizens, violation of international conventions and military code, and attempting to expand executive power at the expense of Congress and the Constitution.

The fundamental argument of those supporting impeachment is that there has been a pattern that suggests the Bush Administration has deliberately attempted to subvert the Constitution and compromise the principle of “separation of powers and checks and balances.” The charges, in effect, suggest the desire to make the Congress and the US Constitution simply “disappear.” For a growing number of Americans, comparisons of the United States with the Roman Empire and 1930s Germany, which used to be unthinkable, are now becoming uncomfortably credible.

The Impeachment Packet is a new tool for citizens interested in this issue. The 19-page packet, produced by B. G. Bandler, is now available online at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/packet.

The packet is a non-partisan effort that supports impeachment, and is designed to remind Americans of the principles on which the US Government is founded and the intent of the US Constitution. The packet encourages citizens to reach their own conclusions about the charges that have been raised. For those who conclude that the remedy of impeachment is warranted, resources for appropriate action are provided.

For more information send an email to bgbandler@yahoo.com

Beverly Bandler

an American in Mexico