Letters to the Editor, March 5, 2005

Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Building Common Ground

Interactive discussion led by Srinidhi Anantharamiah, human rights activist and economics professor (Embry Riddle Faculty of the Year). "Shree," as we refer to him, will discuss the need for increased dialogue here in the United States, and greater understanding of other cultures, countries, and religions.

LOCATION: Unitarian Universalist Friendship Fellowship at Pineda, 3115 Friendship Place, south Rockledge, Florida, on US Hwy 1 about 2.5 miles north of Pineda Causeway. Organization: Unitarian Universalist Friendship Fellowship at Pineda Event link: Organization link: www.uuspacecoast.com/

car bombings

Has it been considered to limit the streets near the facilities where people are registering to be police, law enforcement officers, and other government officials, etc. to motorized vehicles? If streets near these enrollment centers were restricted during the hours these recruitment centers were open for business, the car bombings would not be effective in killing people who were interested in applying for these positions. This seems to be too simple for consideration; however, the killings go on with no apparent solutions. Thank you for your attention to my query.

Ruth Gordon

A strategy for removing CO2 from the environment

In my opinion, and supported by positive feedback from numerous experts, my writing crystallizes subjects. The road I took to the particular subject I advocate for global warming was via bioterrorism. Specifically, I discovered a particular machine called a "gene synthesiser"

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/11/opinion/11morton.html?th

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,12243,858011,00.html

which allow people "to write genes and genomes from scratch."

My specific solution is to take a genetic template (i.e. a known genetic sequence of a living organism) and rewrite the genetic code to "improve" its ability to split the carbon and oxygen molecules,"fixing" the carbon and releasing the oxygen.

For instance, "carbon is fixed in the shells of creatures called coccolithphores, the tiny plankton whose bodies make up the white cliffs of Dover. They live on the ocean surface in trillions and when they die their shells sink to the bottom taking the carbon with them. They could not survive in a more acidic sea and their removal of carbon from the atmosphere would stop."

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,12243,1405900,00.html

Yet, I bet the rate at which the coccolithphores "fix" carbon could be improved; the rate at which the coccolithphores reproduce might be improved; perhaps the size of the coccolithphores could be increased, etc. In other words, nature could be improved upon using the genetic synthesiser.

Unfortunately, when I decided my collegemajor, the "genomic revolution" was not foreseen, and therefore I didn't get a formal education in biology. I would love the opportunity to pursue what I preach, but for now I can only offer philosophical missives advocating such projects.

If you are interested in me elaborating upon this missive, I would be glad to. In my opinion, the first step in the global warming debate is to acknowledge that worldwide CO2 emissions will almost certainly follow current trends for the next 2 decades resulting in the doubling of the CO2 atmospheric levels from pre industrial periods (i.e. from 250 ppm to 500 ppm). Furthermore, that the consequences of global warming are impossible to accept and adapt to.

Thank you for your attention,

Brad Arnold

Returning veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan: Homelessness, trauma, and suicide

In the last two years, nearly one million U.S. service-members have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless of how you may feel about the war, most of us agree that those service-members deserve the best possible care and treatment our country can provide.

Unfortunately, in some cases, things haven't worked out so well. Some of our service-members have fallen through the cracks, with reports of homelessness, trauma and suicide. According to the NEJM, as many as 15% of returning service-members from Iraq will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Thousands have been wounded, and those who were killed left families behind.

Veterans for Common Sense has made available on the internet, and soon in print, a guide for returning veterans to help them navigate the available benefits and assistance available. Our goal is to make it as comprehensive as possible, to let returning veterans know of where they can get assistance if there are any issues with readjustment on their return home.

The guide also contains a section for people who are looking for ways to support the troops, with links to organizations who are directly supporting the troops in the field.

We're trying to let as many people as possible know about the guide, and so we're sending you this note in the hope that, if you are a veteran, you will find it useful, and if not, that you will pass it on.

The guide is available here:

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/files/vcs/guide.cfm

Or on our home page at http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org

We hope you'll visit, and pass this on to friends, family, and others in your community.

Thank you,

Veterans for Common Sense

TWO CHARGED IN SLAYING OF EGYPTIAN FAMILY

When this story first appeared, it made breaking news all over the United States. U.S media outlets (including NPR) chose to play up the "Islamic extremist" angle, despite the fact that not all of the facts were in. In fact, the investigation had barely begun.

Now, with the arrest of the perpetrators the true motives behind this tragedy have been revealed. It wasn't a case of Muslim extremism as U.S media outlets have chosen portray, but another exceedingly cruel criminal act that occurs much too often in this country.

Ironically, as I listened to NPR on the way home and watched CNN during lunch and this evening, I heard no mention of this result.

The fact is that this family is no longer with us and no matter what happens in the reporting of this story will bring them back.

However, the fact that U.S media sources, in their haste to ensure that America's most terrifying enemy (Islam) remains vilified in the hearts and minds of all Americans, details of this tragic event were left out in favor of emphasizing a storyline which help to justify the bigotry directed toward Arabs and Muslims, reflected in current foreign and domestic policies.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the current state of journalism in the U.S, this represents the norm rather than the exception.

Timothy Stinson

CAIR-NJ: MUSLIMS APPLAUD ARRESTS IN SLAYING OF NJ FAMILY

(TOTOWA, NJ, 3/4/05) - The New Jersey office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today applauded the arrest of two suspects in the case of an Arab-American Christian family murdered earlier this year in Jersey City.

The bodies of Hossam Armanious, 47, his wife, Amal Garas, 37, and their two children, Monica, 8, and Sylvia, 15, were found in their home in January. The victims, Coptic Christians from Egypt, died of multiple stab wounds.

The upstairs neighbor of the family and another man were charged today. Edward McDonald, 25, pleaded not guilty to four counts of felony murder. Hamilton Sanchez, 30, faces similar charges and also pleaded not guilty.

SEE: TWO CHARGED IN SLAYING OF EGYPTIAN FAMILY

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-family-slain,0,7361248.story

The case caused religious tension resulting from unsubstantiated claims that the murders were perpetrated by Muslims motivated by anti-Christian bias. Investigators now tell CAIR-NJ that the alleged motive was robbery, not religious hatred.

"All those involved in the investigation of this brutal crime deserve praise for their diligence and for resisting efforts by hate-mongers from outside our state to use the tragedy as a way to damage interfaith relations," said CAIR-NJ President Magdy Mahmoud. Mahmoud said he hopes the arrests will bring closure to this disturbing case.

At the time of the murders, CAIR-NJ offered condolences to the loved ones of the family and to the local Egyptian Coptic community. The Muslim civil rights and advocacy group also asked that the possible bias motive be thoroughly investigated and held a news conference to call for interfaith solidarity.