Author: Tom
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Rebuilding Haiti
Letters to the editor San Francisco Chronicle – Friday, January 22, 2010 Let’s do it right Given the long history of U.S. domination of Haiti and support of its corrupt dictators (described in detail by Dr. Paul Farmer in “The Uses of Haiti”) and its more recent direct involvement in the 2004 overthrow of its…
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Haiti and Afghanistan
Provide help where it’s wanted – San Francisco Chronicle 1/15/10 The United States should end its disastrous occupation of Afghanistan, which is only producing greater and greater resentment among the Afghan people, and turn to Haiti, where it would be welcomed as a partner in rebuilding the country into a sustainable economy. Nothing could benefit…
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San Francisco Chronicle – Insight Letters 9/20/09
New threat: atmosphere of corruption in Kabul Tamim Ansary’s conclusion that U.S. aid has failed to reach the grass roots and instead is going into the pockets of foreign contractors is a sad truth (“Finding a way out of the quagmire,” Insight, Sept. 13), but reaching the grass roots is easier said than done as…
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Barsky Unit Update
Thanh Nien News | Health | Plastic surgeon’s 40-year legacy lives on The present-day National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology in HCMC was formerly known as the Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Emily Barksy saw tears in the eyes of one of the nurses who met her and her father when they visited Ho Chi Minh City-based National Hospital of…
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Letters to the Editor – Berkeley (California) Daily Planet
Thursday August 20, 2009 DOWNTOWN PLAN Editors, Daily Planet: The debate over Berkeley’s downtown plan might become more grounded in fact if the city were to follow the lead of cities like Havana, which has a three-dimensional scale model of the city, showing any proposed changes to citizens before any changes are made. Such an…
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Time for Leadership – NY Times 8/14/09
August 14, 2009 Letter Time for Leadership To the Editor: Re “Senator Goes Face to Face With Dissent” (front page, Aug. 12): If there ever was a time for leadership, now is the time for President Obama to make his case to the American people in clear and uncertain terms about what changes he believes…
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July 25, 2009 at 11:37 a.m. SEATTLE TIMES Travel to Cuba Posted by Bruce Ramsey A reader writes: I’ve read with interest your July 21 column on your visit to Cuba. There are, as you noted, drab state stores where Cubans can use their currency to obtain basic necessities, like beans and rice, but the…
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(NYT) Letters: The Public Option in Health Care Reform
Link to NYTimes.com article Re “The Pitfalls of the Public Option” (Economic View, June 28), in which N. Gregory Mankiw favored a “lightly regulated” private insurance system over one where a public option is included: Would the system he advocates include a requirement that private insurers accept all applicants? As long as private insurers are allowed to…
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(NYT) From Acts of Defiance, Democracy May Grow in Iran
Link to NYTimes.com article Published: June 17, 2009 To the Editor: President Obama is wise to observe discretion with respect to commenting on the unrest in Iran (“Obama Warns Against Direct Involvement by U.S. in Iran,” news article, June 17). The C.I.A. overthrow of a democratically elected leader, Mohammed Mossadegh, in the 1950s is still…
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(NYT) LETTERS: America, What Comes After Torture?
Link to NYTimes.com article To the Editor: Re ”In the Spirit of Openness” (editorial, April 23): Americans and the world deserve a complete and thorough investigation of the Bush administration’s use of torture, and if this is to occur, it must be by a special prosecutor and not a ”bipartisan” commission, which, if the past…
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LETTERS; Obama In Afghanistan
[link to NYTimes.com article] Published: February 1, 2009 To the Editor: Ray Bonner’s review of Bruce Riedel’s ”Search for Al Qaeda” and Tariq Ali’s ”Duel” (Jan. 16) presents President Obama with conflicting recommendations: increase NATO troops, versus Ali’s political solution involving the removal of NATO troops. While it would appear that President Obama has opted…