Al Jazeera [2]

It’s more than a welcome voice for the Third World. I am an American citizen and I wish that I could have access to real news and Al Jazeera. The local and international news channels in my country are so biased and entertainment-oriented that we have little idea of what is going on nationally and internationally. I get my news from Reuters, Guardian, the BBC and others.

Mireille Leonard, United States published 26 November 2006

Distribution of Wealth

It was good to read, in the report “Fair Distribution of Wealth Assured” (Nov. 15), Crown Prince Sultan’s reaffirmation of the government’s commitment to ensure fair distribution of wealth in the Kingdom through development projects across the country.

However, there are some points that must be taken into account before launching development works. Each one of them should fill a need in the country. Creating big economic cities, I feel, is not the right answer to the country’s present needs. Such projects require trained labor, which the Kingdom does not have. So the immediate effect of such projects will be to invite more foreign labor. Giving more jobs to more expatriates will not mean distribution of wealth.

Further, economic cities cost billions to set up. Not even industrial countries do that because the returns do not justify the investment. Further, creating the same kind of projects in every region, in copycat style, will mean nonproductive duplication, while setting up specialties in different regions will encourage interdependence among regions. The south can be the food basket of the country.

The government should make ordinary Saudis the focus of all development. One way to make them partners in progress is to enable them to make some savings by bringing down the cost of utility services. Venezuela’s Chavez did that by reducing the price of gas to less than 10 cents.

When the poor can save money, they will invest it in the market or start their own businesses. Financing young people to start their own projects is more important than big economic cities. I have seen how small business succeeds in the US.

Rashid M. Alhomaid, Tucson, Arizona, US published 26 November 2006

Tyranny of ‘Liberation’

Your editorial “Diplomacy of Clenched Fist” (Nov. 5) got it right: Bush and Blair were wrong from the very beginning about Iraq — and they were aware of that from the very beginning. They knew that they were lying when they accused Iraq of possessing weapons and having links with 9/11. Events on the ground have forced them to admit that their “policies” and “plans” have failed. It is time they pulled out of Iraq and left the Iraqis to put their house in order. However bad Saddam may have been, I’m sure they were better off before Bush and Blair went in to “liberate” them.

Ismaeel Marikar, Riyadh published 26 November 2006

Hatred for Women

This refers to Iman Kurdi’s article “Blaming Women for Rape Is an Insult to Men’s Intelligence” (Nov. 18). Here in America, bad behavior by men is excused with something like “Boys will be Boys.” If a woman dresses to please herself, and it catches the eye of a man, then she “deserves” what she gets. I guess that is America’s version. Fathers need to teach their sons that this behavior is unwelcome and wrong. As for good behavior, good luck to the world of Islam. It’s not working too well in the Christian world either. Why do men fear and/or hate women so much? We do not cause wars. We heal the wounds.

Cristiana Coleman, United States published 26 November 2006

Stop the Money

I think the time has come for US Congress to cut off funding for the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. How else can it be stopped? That is the only way for us not to be held responsible for further deaths of our service men and women in uniform there, let alone the lives of more Iraqis. Can we approve of mortgaging future generations for this adventure? It costs billions that we don’t have. Would the whole struggle of spreading terrorism not be served better by putting all our resources together and helping formulate a genuine peace effort between Israel and Palestine? Would that not be a signal worth sending?

Helmut Eckart, United States published 26 November 2006

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera’s English channel will make a difference to those who are keen to know the other side of events that American channels such as Fox and CNN love to gloss over. The monopoly of media sources owned by interests that support Western imperialist policies has given the world a lopsided view of the issues that are vital to the Middle East.

It is this monopoly that has defined violence, invasion, occupation, resistance and so on in ways that have made it possible for men of evil such as George Bush and Tony Blair to strut around the world as champions of human rights even while killing Arabs, as in Iraq. They were criticizing China’s record of human rights while preventing, for a whole month, the UN from passing a resolution to force Israel to end its killings in Lebanon.

No one heard from these “outstanding” channels that America and Britain were maneuvering so that the large number of Lebanese killed would force Lebanon to capitulate to Israel. It is such imbalance in information that Al Jazeera can correct.

The most effective use that American colonizers have made of their media monopoly is in redefining words to suit their political agenda. They have made invading sovereign countries and occupying them respectable by repeating the lie that they are doing it to give the murdered people democracy. The power of the media is such that those who hear these lies do not realize that they are lies. The earlier justifications were weapons of mass destruction and an Al-Qaeda connection, both of which were lies. Still, people listen to these channels and believe the claims.

George Bush is a bigger murderer than Osama Bin Laden. He is responsible for the death of 665,000 people. Compared to him, Osama is an innocent babe. His score across the world must be under 4,000, including those who died in New York. Both must be hanged on lampposts in public squares; but the tallest must be reserved for George. What Al Jazeera can do is to call killers killers, even if they have white skins and blue eyes. It is not that Americans will be made to see the issues differently. They will not recognize the truth if it hits them in the face.

Abdul Latif, Kuwait published 26 November 2006