Letters to the editor

Columnist wrong; Israel retaliations not acts of terror I disagree with Malcolm Fleming's entire letter Jan. 18 (Sept. 11 terrorist attacks not the same as Palestine-Israel conflict) and would love to deconstruct it point-by-point. But, as I don't have the requisite column-inches, I'll suffice to dispute his equation of Palestinian terror with Israeli "terror." Fleming writes, "Both Israel and Palestine are guilty of terrorism, meaning the killing of unarmed civilians of the other side." Wow. What a generous definition of terrorism. Are we honestly expected to believe that there is no moral difference between Israeli attacks on terrorists which happen to kill civilians and, say, last week's terrorist attack on a little girl's Bat Mitzvah party in Hadera? Is the failure of Palestinian apologists after Sept. 11 so desperate that it has come to such outlandish (and unquestionably faulty) attempts at moral equivalency? Terrorists, you see, don't just kill innocent civilians. If that were the case, every off-target American bomb in Afghanistan would be a terrorist attack. Terrorists TARGET innocent civilians. And Israel doesn't do that. I encourage you to look at Ha'aretz (www.haaretzdaily.com) as Mr. Fleming suggests. I also recommend you check out the Middle East Media and Research Institute (www.memri.org), which translates the Arabic press into English. Arab leaders show their people strikingly different faces from those on CNN and the networks. You can also check out the Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com) and Arutz 7 (http://www.israelnationalnews.com), which is pretty right-wing but can provide perspective. Lastly, I suggest you come visit Israel. Whether via the exchange program with Hebrew University or on a summer fellowship, you can only really learn about this complicated place by visiting. IU has a renowned Jewish studies program and I'm certain it could point you in the right direction. Also, although I disagree with their politics, the organization Seeds of Peace (www.seedsofpeace.org) is a respected program that may have additional information on student programs. Jonathan L. Greenberg
Alumnus Professors' ability to communicate key issue in classroom Kudos to the brilliant artistry of Shane Johnson! Finally, someone recognizes the art of speaking English should be a staple of any teacher -- including math professors! His perfect depiction of this common epidemic plaguing IU compels me to ask one question -- is Shane Johnson in my math class? The first day of this semester, I walked into my basic level math class to find a young professor sputtering out sentence fragments and mispronouncing words like "calculator" and "signature." I have nothing against foreign professors, but I was highly disappointed in IU for failing to recognize the importance of communication in learning, especially in a lower-level math class housing students who already have difficulties understanding the subject matter! I'm happy to report I am no longer enrolled in this math class and I now enjoy easy listening in another section. The University should evaluate its teachers not only on their level of expertise, but on their ability to teach! So thank you Shane Johnson for expressing this problem accurately and comically. Hannah Holt
Freshman Staff editorial doesn't give clear picture of I-69 implications In your recent staff editorial supporting new-terrain I-69, you mention that Voices For I-69, the collection of special interests who want to shove this boondoggle down taxpayers' throats, have conceded that the $1.3 billion project would only create about 4,400 jobs. Not only does the editorial fail to comment on this admission, it actually cites it as evidence in favor of building the highway! Given that those of you who endorsed the editorial are clearly math-challenged, allow me to do the math for you:1.3 billion divided by 4,400 equals about $300,000 per job. A University of Chicago study pegs the figure at closer to $1.5 million per job for the rural counties that proponents claim are the highway's main beneficiaries. Either way, it's an idiotic job creation strategy (although if, like Bloomington robber barons Bill Brown and Jerry Gates, you own a great deal of land adjoining the proposed highway, you probably don't care!). Traditional rural economic development programs cost $1000-$5000 per job created. According to the Environmental Law and Policy Center's Alexander Ewing, "It costs so much to create jobs with I-69 that it would be cheaper to fly over Southwest Indiana and throw $100 bills out the window." As for your claim that the 3,000 acres of farmland the highway would destroy is an insignificant loss, tell that to the farmers whose land would be taken! Secondly, the figures concerning the amount of land the highway would destroy do not include the considerable sprawl the highway would create around it. Third, the adverse environmental impact of a new-terrain highway extends far beyond the land directly occupied. Finally, as anyone with a lick of common sense understands, the impact of sprawl is cumulative. There are innumerable new developments occurring all over Indiana that are each destroying "only" X acres, but anyone who has lived here for any length of time and isn't blind has seen how rapidly sprawl is consuming our precious farmland and wilderness. I hope your computers have a Braille translation program. Jeff Melton
Bloomington Resident MLK Day speaker's comments carried misplaced message Monday, I went to see Mary Francis Berry, the Chair of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. She was the keynote speaker for MLK Jr. Day, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Presumably, on a day such as Monday, the chair of such a commission should have given a speech espousing the virtue of King's struggle and the battle still left to fight for racial harmony. However, Mary Francis Berry did no such thing. Despite the brief, introductory musings and feeble, infrequent references to Dr. King, the commemoratory speech was a 45-minute diatribe on contemporary liberal politics. Berry chose to use her time discussing prescription drugs for the elderly, welfare reform, the recent presidential election, Enron, campaign finance reform, Social Security and a host of other partisan, liberal issues. This leads me to wonder whom IDS reporter Emily Smith went to see when she subtitles her story on the event, "Students realize previously unknown aspects about MLK." The only revelation was that King occasionally told a racy joke, which is about the depth to which Berry's speech explored MLK Jr. A great man's story was left untold, and those such as myself, who expected to hear it, left disappointed. In short, Berry used the occasion to inappropriately engage in a partisan rant on topics with little or no relevance to the public holiday. Such rhetoric has its time and place -- but certainly not on the day we have set aside to honor a great American such as King. The Office of Multicultural Affairs made a severe mistake in its choice for keynote speaker, either superficially attending to Berry's impressive title or by a motivation to advance liberal sentiments of its own. In either case, by choosing an inappropriate speaker, it failed to fulfill the spirit of the holiday. Zach Wendling
Senior Payton not realistic about chest size Please tell me that Sarah Payton's editorial, "Plastic surgery perplexities" was sarcasm at best. I thought long and hard and came up with a list of things I could spend $6,000 on besides implants. Things that made the list include tuition and books, or food enough to feed a tiny, impoverished nation for a year. If you insist upon using the money to pay for something gratuitous, how about a nice painting? It will never grow ugly and it will never start to sag. But let's say you really have that much money to waste and you ignore all the health hazards and horror stories of breast implants. You come to the realization that you aren't the "liberated woman" you thought you were. So you get the implants. Now what? Maybe you'll go buy some sexy new bras. Try feeling good about yourself in straps a mile wide and cups that can hold bowling balls. And don't even think about sacrificing support for style or you'll need another $6,000 just to pay the chiropractor. Summer comes and it's perfect tank-top weather, but there isn't a strapless bra this side of Mars that can keep your breasts from sagging down to your knees. Feeling tubby now that you can't fit into your old clothes? Better go for a jog. That is, if you can stand the pain of your breasts crashing (yes, crashing, not bouncing) up and down. Do you enjoy having intelligent conversation and maintaining eye contact with others? Well kiss that goodbye for at least half the population. The truth is, my body is not built to hold my natural-size chest. Not only is it literally a pain, but finding bras and clothes that fit is often impossible and sometimes I stand out when I don't want to. So this spring break I may be the one with the large breasts, but at least you will be able to find a bathing suit to fit into. Katie Flege
Junior