letters

Just short of a dozen letters on just as many topics

Agent Orange and Panama

I served in Panama from 72-74 and am looking for proof that AO was used during that time. I have been denied VA disability for Diabetes II due to exposure to AO.

Do you have any information that would help me with my claim?

Thank you for your help.

Editor's note: This has been litigated before, and after many denials from the Army, it was established that in the Vietnam War era Agent Orange was used in Panama, at least insofar as it was sprayed as an herbicide near a mock Vietnamese village training facility on the road to Fort Sherman on the Atlantic side and in the back part of Fort Clayton and the Chivo Chivo Trail on the Pacific Side. This chemical agent's use was probably more widespread, and there may have been barrels of the unused stuff disposed of in Panama as well. People who were denied benefits for cancers and other illnesses eventually proved their case and they or their families belatedly received what was their due.

  The Panama News photo features

Pictures always tell what words can't describe and that's just facts....

 
Re: Deprez, Climate migration in Latin America

"Similarly, environmental changes should not induce mass migrations in a country that has an accountable and responsive government."

And what country might that be? Certainly not the United States!

Too many US citizens are in denial and ignorant about climate disruption and its causes still, with most of the balance preoccupied with the frustrations of daily life and the knowledge that their concerns won't be either heard or addressed in the face of our bought, corrupt government. However, the average person can readily spew out the sentiment "I don't want to be a minority," which will be true for Anglos in the near future.

People in the United States like to think of themselves as generous and will send money, at first, to victims of natural disasters, though not of our various senseless and destructive wars and precious little to their own poor fellow citizens, but they do not want foreigners here, particularly if they are non-white.

With healthcare reform so much in the public's awareness, the comments I hear make me think that people think that it's acceptable for their premiums to constantly be raised by huge amounts while they receive less coverage and that they would prefer that to, gasp, having to actually pay for a fraction of the cost to cover someone else. However, the US educational system is so broken and so many people in the USA are so enthralled and mesmerized by corrupt, hypocritical religious and political figures that the average person seems ignorant of the fact that they are paying high-dollar costs for health care in emergency rooms right now for people who cannot afford insurance --- and that number increases exponentially daily.

 
Searching for my friends

I hope you can help me. I'm searching for 10 of my high school classmates to inform them about our 50-year class reunion. I hope they might be able to attend, but I am having difficulty finding them because the school we attended was in Yonkers, NY and these girls live in Central and South America.

Two of my friends came from Panama, probably from Panama City. One was Maruca Boyd and the other was Sandra Eleta-Boyd. I do not know if they were sisters. I do not believe they were. They would have been born about 1942, and I don't know if they married and have different last names now.

If you can help me get in touch with them, it would be greatly appreciated. If not, just ignore my email.

 
Help find British journalist missing in Costa Rica

I am the webmaster for http://www.helpfindmichaeldixon.com. My Brother Michael Dixon has been missing in Costa Rica since the 18th October 2009.

The case has already had extensive news coverage in the press such as BBC, Sky news, CNN and other local news outlets.

We have recently set up the website in order to increase awareness of Michael's situation and have already received a number of page views.

I came across your site thepanamanews.com on Google. We would greatly appreciate if you could take part in this link exchange.

Editor's note: Done. Let's hope your brother is found safe and sound.

  Cuba

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2007-07-11-cuito-cuanavale-revisited

Viva Cuba libre!

Editor's note: A lot of Cubans and foreign observers have different ideas about what "libre" means, but the battle of Cuito Cuanavale was one of Cuba's finest hours and it would not be surprising if another generation that leads Cuba in a new direction turns out to be led by a veteran of that historic struggle.

  Re: a story in the economy section

Outstanding piece, Sir. I posit --- along with you I have no doubt --- these individuals will become more involved in your labor disputes. It may not be overt obviously due to the "blowback" that it would cause amongst you and your brethren. They will however train an ancillary group that will be somehow tasked with "dealing with" these pesky scenarios as Martinelli's administration will view them.

 
Re: Avnery, The Doomsday Weapon

Excellent column. I have been entering my opinion in various blogs about this very topic. Of course they rapidly are backed up into oblivion by later correspondents.

The United States has allowed Israel to dictate our foreign policy in the Middle East. Were it not for our massive infusion of money into various Middle Eastern countries, primarily their militaries, we would have a large upheaval on our hands.

It is my contention that we have long supported Israel because they afford us a foothold in the Middle East in the event of a threat to the oil supply from that region.

Immediately following the 1967 War the United States told Israel that we did not support any absorption of captured lands into Israel. Since that time we have sat back and allowed Israel to do as it pleases. No they didn't attach the land they captured, they simply use it and the resources on it as if it was theirs.

 
Annoyed by Willy Gutman's opinion column

I was very disappointed in your publishing the article "Is the United States prepping Colombia to attack Venezuela?" by W.E. Gutman. This is the second article by him that has infuriated me on your site. His writing appears terribly inflammatory and full of unsupported opinions instead of facts. A few lines of example which to me is simpleton shock/schlock journalism.

Quoting "A US intelligence source who spoke on condition of anonymity"…

 "I don't believe Colombia has any intention to fight the drug lords --- and neither does Honduras." (Who does Mr. Gutman and this "unknown" intelligence source think the Colombian army has been fighting all these years? The FARC purely exist now with the support of the Narcos and to protect as much turf for the Narcos as they can… ridiculous statement.)

 "Uribe is president because the drug lords put him there and are leaving him there for a third term. Drugs have nothing to do with the US-Colombia-Honduras triangle." (Uribe has had a huge majority support of all Colombians BECAUSE he has been seen as cleaning up drugs and the FARC. Just read the latest UN report on global drug trafficking. I don't think this makes the drug lords happy or supportive of Uribe. Thanks for catching after the fact that Uribe is NOT running for a third term.)

I also am perplexed at Mr. Gutman's reasoning throughout the article. He paints Mr. Chávez as the worst of leaders, and I quote, "he does give off an odor of megalomania and unpredictability… Venezuela is buried under a mountain of debt and other financial problems stemming from Chávez's erratic governance --- think of Mussolini's "socialist-fascism" --- and just as inept… Chávez is a former military man and the assessment is that he sees military options as familiar and within the scope of his comfort zone." Yet Mr. Gutman seems to throw all the blame for this megalomania on Colombia and US strengthening military ties. I generally don't support the USA government's involvement in foreign affairs, but I think it is much more justified to take action in Latin America against drug cartels and Leftist Militaristic Dictators than being bogged down in the Middle East or Afghanistan. Chávez is the new "Hitler," only not nearly as smart…therefore in some ways MORE dangerous.

Finally, the authors summary paragraph is pure hogwash and without foundation. To implicate that "Mr. Obama" (does he not recognize him or respect him as PRESIDENT?) is placating his far-right adversaries and the cause for destabilization of Venezuela is because of USA presence on Colombian soil…is total conjecture and in my opinion defending the evil by blaming the defenders of democracy and economic prosperity in the region. Would you and Mr. Gutman really prefer the leftist, dictatorial agendas of Chávez, Castro and Evo in Bolivia over Colombia or the USA's democratic and economic growth agenda? I know a few thousand Venezuelans in Panama and Miami who would love to tell you a few stories.

If you are going to publish Mr. Gutman, please have him at least write with supportable positions and without all the innuendo, cloak and dagger. This was political rubbish. Please try for more balance on your opinion section.

Editor's note: That a court decision came down between when Willy Gutman wrote his column and The Panama News published it is the editor's fault, not his. A veteran journalist who has a point of view that is, however, nowhere nearly as simplistic as the reader seems to think, Gutman tends to call things as he sees them about Hugo Chávez. Understand that like many Latin Americans, Gutman distinguishes between the question of whether a given leader is or is not all sweetness and light and the other matter of whether the United States or another foreign power is right or wise to use threats or violence to try to remove that leader.

Finally, is Hugo Chávez comparable to Hitler? They are both singular historical figures, but Hitler was the modern-day version of the ancient Assyrians at their worst, the man who applied industrial assembly line techniques to genocide. We have seen terrible crimes, including genocide, since Hitler's time, but merely opposing US hegemony in Latin America with bombastic rhetoric, the occasional heavy-handed move and sometimes insufferable egotism does not compare to what Hitler did. It's not even remotely close and to claim that it is unfortunately detracts from lessons that should not be forgotten about the nature of the evil that Hitler represented.

Another point of view: passing on the litany

Something to consider.

This litany does give one pause for thought.

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Ghraib photos.

You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when we let New Orleans drown.

You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when… when... wait for it... when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.

Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all OK with you, but helping other Americans... well that's just too much to stomach! That about right? You know it is.

 
Holy Week and Easter

Holy Week is upon us. It is a time when we fast with joy, submitting ourselves to spiritual struggles in preparation for the sorrowful Passion and joyful Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

What is demanded of all Christians at this time is fasting, abstinence, restriction of personal desires and pleasures, intense prayer, confession, and similar ascetic elements.

Holy Week is a sacred time of divine grace, which seeks to detach us from things material, lowly and corrupt in order to attract us toward things superior, wholesome and spiritual. It is a unique opportunity to remove from the soul every inordinate passion so as to make room for the immense rejoicing and gladness of Easter.

Limiting ourselves to what is absolutely essential and necessary in an attitude of dignified, deliberate simplicity is a formula for patience and tolerance; it is an opportunity to acknowledge and emphasize our need for God's assistance and mercy, placing our complete trust in His affectionate providence; it is a prescription for salvation.

Let us be up and on our way.