Dear Editor and readers,

I, like others who have written recently, am grateful for the English access Aljazeerah.info provides to Arabic and other sources of insight and opinion. I too have supplied a small contribution in exchange for a tee shirt which I am rather proud to possess.

To comment on various pressures on various media sources for "incitement" and such, I have observed that Aljazeerah.info seems quite restrained in its publication, a restraint which sometimes even seems unwarranted in view of many current daily and ongoing events.

An example of this restraint was its publication of one of two previous letters I have sent to this editor, a fairly restrained suggestion for progress in international affairs. Another, a quite UNrestrained statement of outrage on the killing of Saddam Hussein's sons (and a grandson), was not published.

This restraint is understandable at least partly in view of the fact that Aljazeerah.info, its no doubt hard-working editor and many of its contributors, for all of whom I have high respect, are based in the United States.

On this note I must comment on another letter of August 2, whose writer grants freedom "to express his personal views" "as an American citizen" to another whose views the writer appears not to share.

I must insist that one has such freedom, not as an "American citizen" nor even, more correctly put, as a citizen of the United States, but rather as a human being. Consequences, of course, of such expression may vary with place and time.

Regards, 

Nelson Campbell

Editor: Thanks Nelson for your support and for these words. You truly spoke for me. I'd like to add that I receive hate mail and even threats on daily basis. So, it is not an easy job at all.

Information about the Earth's Day

Ebay bans Canadian artist

I thought you might want to read this, as it seems to me freedom of speech is being eroded here and ebay condoning hate mail at the same time, if you go to the artist's site you will see the hate mail he received

August 05, 2003

Ebay bans artist for making fun of Bush administration north.cbc.ca: A Yukon artist has been censored by eBay for making fun of the Bush administration.

Dawson City artist John Steins has been ordered off the popular auction Web site for mocking Bush and other U.S. leaders in a series of hand-painted drawings.

Steins' art project is a parody of the "most wanted" deck of playing cards issued in the Iraqi war.

Ebay apparently banned the cards after receiving complaints from pro-Bush Americans. Since being forced off eBay, Steins has found another Internet outlet for his art. He owns the domain name, "thebushadministration.com" where he's posted the images for sale.

C J Wisocki