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On Beasts and Bellies

In Kirkland we had in-depth discussion of many issues, ranging from transportation to education, the status of particular bills. We had "face time" with each of them (Springer, Goodman, Oemig) plus their legislative aides, the mayor Jim Lauinger, several past reps including Toby Nixon, and a local jingoistic windbag (Scott St. Clair) and a few progressive windbags (Andrew Villeneuve, myself, others).

People in the 45th District have a tragically ignorant concept about their avenues available for exerting their political power.

The Democrats are very energized, and probably 5000 or more attended the caucuses, in the vicinity of these two Town Hall meetings. But their media is telling them, their avenue for expressing their will is the Caucuses. Pathetic! At the caucus, we were told by the Democratic Party official that we could not even make a speech, read or consider resolutions, or anything else other than figure out how many delegates we would send to District Caucus for candidates, basically, Obama or Clinton. Since the propaganda told us nobody else has a chance of winning, your "democracy" is choosing between these two appointed candidates.

The caucuses are not democracy. The town halls are better. But we really need a 2-day Chatauqua or "Rolling Thunder" this summer, for the northeast side. The circumstances are ripe for it.

--Todd Boyle, Kirkland

On Parrots and Talking Points

Re: NATURE & POLITICS: Iraq's Environmental Crisis by Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank.

Please work to sharpen your editorial skills. Valid scientific information about DU is widely available if you care to take note of it.

Fortunately, Jeff and Josh have work to do to become reporters. There was and is essentially no DU content in bullets and bombs. The DU content is limited to anti-armor munitions. Even the so-called earth penetrators do not use DU. Additionally, in spite of the continuing attempts by various anti-war zealots, the effects of expended DU rounds on human health have been shown to be nearly zero.

Lots of fun, I suppose, for subject matter, but there is no journalism here.

--Maury Siskel, Fort Worth TX

Geov Parrish replies: Fascinating. Within hours of posting last issue on the web, we got this and one other letter to the editor protesting the Nature & Politics column. They were strikingly similar: hewing closely to Pentagon talking points ("Studies prove DU is harmless! Try it on your breakfast cereal!) and ad hominem attacks on the authors and depleted uranium critics.

As it happens, Jeffrey St. Clair is one of the country's foremost environmental writers, and there's an abundance of evidence linking DU usage and all sorts of cancers and other ailments among both soldiers and civilians. But it's nice to know the Pentagon has a crack team of letter-writers at its disposal scanning the web for anything that might call this silent holocaust into question. Your tax dollars at work.

Better Late than Never!

Both sides need to step back from the rhetoric for a minute. We can all agree on certain things. In 1947 the convergence of historical events led to the British leaving a power void in the former Ottoman province of Palestine, where two peoples, the Jews and Arabs, had grown societies since the 1880s as the area began to develop. They lived interspersed and intertwined such that fairly creating two separate States seemed near impossible. The UN voted to partition Palestine and create the modern state of Israel.

Today, 60 years later, Jews and Arabs continue to live with each other, sometimes wildly unsuccessfully. There still is a Jewish state of Israel. The Arabs also have a firmly developed national consciousness. There is a Palestinian people, some of whom live as Israeli citizens, some of whom live in the West Bank and Gaza and have their own national aspirations, and some of whom live in Jordan. Those in Israel and Jordan may sympathize or share those aspirations to some degree.

There is only one good solution: two States, living in mutual recognition and peaceful co-existence. Both sides need to recognize that you can't undo history. There are two peoples there and no one is going to leave.

It's important to know what happened in 1948. As with most history, the truth is somewhere in the middle. But now, it's time, 60 years later, to look forward. OK, my minute is up.

--Jonathan Freedman, Seattle