Something Stinks
Montauk
June 23, 2007
Dear David;
When Shell Oil and a Canadian oil company start advertising in The East Hampton Star, you’ve got to believe they’re selling something that won’t sell itself. The full-page ad that ran in The Star a few weeks ago promoting the “everybody wins” benefits of the Broadwater floating liquid gas facility should be a clear indication that something stinks here, and it’s not dead fish . . . yet.
Reading the ad you would think this thing called “Broadwater” is a placid and serene yachting resort on Long Island Sound for those seeking a peaceful and healthful vacation rather than the mega-industrial liquid gas flame-belching and polluting facility in the middle of the Long Island Sound. Broadwater is a 10-story-high, four-football-field-wide, floating liquid gas facility planned for the middle of the Sound and is such a severe safety and security hazard and potential terrorist target that the Coast Guard is requiring a two-to-three-mile-radius zone around it to be off limits to all boaters, if it is approved.
Even worse, the huge tankers that will be transporting the liquid gas to refuel it will have a four-mile-wide security zone around them as they pass through Block Island Sound, the Race, and Long Island Sound, passing as close as six miles to Montauk. Any boat that enters this zone will be subject to arrest or worse. The terror threat to these high-profile targets is real. According to a report published in a Lebanon-based newspaper, the Daily Star, an American counterterrorism official was quoted as saying that Al Qaeda has developed a manual to teach how rocket-propelled grenades can “turn liquefied natural gas (L.N.G.) tankers into floating bombs.”
Masters at distortion, the ad agency wordsmiths build on the deception. The Broadwater ad claims that the Coast Guard believes that Broadwater’s location “is a safety and security benefit” and that, “local governments will not pay for security costs.” In fact, the Coast Guard says that Broadwater poses serious safety and security risks they alone cannot protect against and that private security and state and local governments would have to share the burden and the costs of security if it is approved. In the Coast Guard’s own words:
“Additional resources would be needed to mitigate safety and security risks associated with Broadwater L.N.G. project, if approved. The most probable security regime would consist of a mix of federal (including Coast Guard), state, and local law enforcement. If state and local law enforcement agencies are involved, these agencies and Broadwater energy will be responsible for brokering a cost-sharing agreement. Additional marine firefighting resources would be required to mitigate fire risks associated with Broadwater L.N.G. project, if approved. Existing marine firefighting capability in Long Island Sound is inadequate.”
You can read the full summary report on the Internet at www.uscg.mil/d1/units/ seclis/broadwater/wsrrpt/Summary.pdf
This is just the opposite of what Broadwater claims about the Coast Guard statement. Furthermore, every town government on eastern Long Island has opposed Broadwater and all agree they cannot and will not provide the extra security needed to reduce the security and safety risks Broadwater poses.
Even the designation “Broadwater” is part of the distortion — this is a brand name for a joint venture between Shell Oil and TransCanada Energy, two of North America’s largest energy companies. It’s a disguise to make this disaster-in-waiting sound more palatable. So with their propensity for deception, how can we take seriously the claim that Broadwater will save Long Island homeowners $300 a year in energy costs? Indeed this claim is disputed by almost every group that has studied the plan.
Environmentally Broadwater is far from neutral. Newsday reported that the facility would take in five million gallons of water per day and discharge it 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer. That can’t be good for life as usual for the fish. Furthermore, besides being potential floating bombs for terrorists, the delivery tankers will disrupt recreational boating and fishing as well as the commercial fishing industry of eastern Long Island with the stipulated four-mile-wide mobile security fence. Indeed, Broadwater will be the death knell of the Sound as a recreational waterway and initiate its transformation into a restricted-entry aquatic industrial zone.
Broadwater propaganda and double- speak will not hide the truth. This project is a disaster for Long Island. You can learn more about Broadwater and its true environmental impact and security and safety risks from the Anti-Broadwater Coalition Web site at www.StopBroadwater.org. And please e-mail Governor Spitzer through his web site: www.state. ny.us/governor, or fax him at 202-434-7110 and let him know you oppose Broadwater. It’s time to speak up, the bomb is ticking.
Bill Akin
President
The Concerned Citizens of Montauk
The Stars
Patchogue
June 26, 2007
Dear Editor,
After an observing session at the Montauk Observatory in Theodore Roosevelt County Park the other night, I was ready to sell my house in Patchogue and move out there. There is simply no way to describe the breathtaking Milky Way and the rest of the sky at night. It was the best I have seen it in my 45 years of astronomy.
The Trifid Nebula looked like it does in pictures, only better. M82 was big, bright, and detailed. We easily saw the central star in the Ring Nebula. M4 (west of Antares) was resolved to the core with M13 indescribably beautiful.
Even with the quarter moon, the Milky Way was stunning. After moonset about 11:30, the background became jet black with the stars beacon-like and the Milky Way bordering on casting shadows. The only way to describe it is brilliant.
Mike Inglis, who conducted his doctoral work at Siding Spring in Australia, couldn’t stop remarking how “brilliant” (which was even more endearing with his distinct British accent) the sky appeared.
This is what has happened to me: Seeing this sky has invigorated me to the point where I have a much stronger attitude when it comes to eliminating light pollution.
Thank-yous go to residents, officials, and to the business community of the Town of East Hampton for your “dark sky” policy. You have protected a treasure. And, thank you, Susan Harder, for all your hard work on the East End.
TOM MADIGAN
—
Susan Harder is a Springs resident and activist who is largely responsible for urging East Hampton Town officials to adopt measures limiting light pollution. Information about the Montauk Observatory is available online, montaukobservatory.com. Ed.
Gave Her the Chance
East Hampton
June 25, 2007,
Dear David,
I moved to the beautiful Village of East Hampton seven years ago after having lived for 16 years in a small town outside of Paris, France. The local marketplace on Wednesday and Saturday mornings was a wonderful place to get fantastic produce, cheese, breads, meats, olives, and more. This open-air market was equally the meeting place to run into neighbors, colleagues, and acquaintances, and to spend a moment catching up on each other’s lives. I have found this same feeling in the Waldbaum’s of East Hampton.
I know I am a relative newcomer when I talk to those who still refer to it as the A&P. Any aisle I wander down with my shopping cart, I will run into a familiar face, whether it’s a colleague, a family friend, or a former teacher of one of my children. These friendly interactions occur quite frequently, as I have a blended family of seven with five college-age kids with hearty appetites.
I am not writing to The Star to simply recommend shopping at Waldbaum’s but to praise and to express publicly my profound gratitude to the wonderful people who work here.
Bill Goff, the store’s manager, starts each morning praising his staff about their performance of the day before and giving them some words of encouragement for the day ahead of them. Mr. Goff could teach a valuable lesson to employers who forget that their most valuable asset is happy employees. If I stopped here telling you how helpful and kind all the employees are in spite of the increased summer traffic in the store that would seem to be enough for any reader who has experienced the same kindness that I have every time I shop at Waldbaum’s.
I have a much deeper gratitude to express to Mr. Goff and his wonderful team, for they have given my daughter Joanna a real opportunity to work and feel productive, for Joanna has had to fight her learning differences from birth, and it has been quite a struggle. She was surrounded by the incredible team of teachers at East Hampton Middle School and High School in the self-contained special education classes. The staff was so loving and supportive. The outside world treated her otherwise.
As a mother and former teacher, it pained me to see Joanna being turned away again and again by employers in town who found her too slow after only a few hours of trying out a summer job. Joanna was even turned away from volunteering her services, and it nearly broke my heart.
Mr. Goff saw Joanna’s desire to work and gave her the chance. When I asked him who I could write to in order to commend him, he would not tell me who his supervisor was. He said simply that he was doing what he thought was the right thing to do, nothing more. When we offered him a small gift as a token of our profound appreciation, he refused it, saying he was only doing his job.
I know that Mr. Goff goes far beyond simply doing his job as do Mick and Laura, the joyous cashiers, and the wonderful bakery staff, including Pat and Darrell, who supervise Joanna and have made her sullen face become a radiant one. There are so many employees I wish to salute, from my friends in the produce department who discuss our large number of children and our view on their finding their paths in their lives, to all the staff who help this 4-foot, 10-inch woman reach all her favorite foods that are always out of reach.
I could go on and on because my almost-daily trip to Waldbaum’s restores my faith in the goodness of people, and there is not only an abundance of products at Waldbaum’s of East Hampton but also an abundance of good-hearted people. I thank you and salute you all from the bottom of my heart. With great appreciation and affection, your daily shopper,
CAROL DEPERSIA
Pianofest
East Hampton
July 1, 2007
To The Editor,
It has been the case for a long time that the high cost of quality live cultural events and concerts in the Hamptons usually excludes students and those with budget constraints. A notable exception has been the Pianofest program. It is both a festival and a school for greatly talented young pianists. It sponsors piano concerts at various sites on the East End, primarily with a $10 admission fee and free to students.
Last Thursday, it hosted a concert at East Hampton High School, which was free to all. The music was lyrical and passionately and beautifully played. I noted that the high school auditorium was 90 percent empty.
Pianofest will host another free concert at East Hampton High School on Thursday, Aug. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. There is plenty of hassle-free parking.
Readers of these pages should be eager to benefit from this community asset and to spread the word. It’s an exciting musical experience, even if it is free. The hall should be full.
DANIEL E. COHEN
Snotty
Springs
July 1, 2007
Dear David,
In a June 30 review of a musical night in the city that was an appreciation for the composer, conductor, and pianist Lukas Foss, who will be 85 this August, it was obvious that Bernard Holland, The New York Times critic, was not pleased with the choral part of the evening, an interpretation of an early Foss piece, “The Prairie.” (The concert will be repeated on Saturday at the Channing sculpture garden in Bridgehampton, again under the more-than-able direction of Mark Mangini.)
An Aaron Copland-inspired work from Mr. Foss’s younger days, and based on Carl Sandburg’s poetry, this distinctive seven-part bit of Americana was sung by the combined voices of the Choral Society of the Hamptons and the Greenwich Village Singers. Mr. Holland accorded them one sentence: “Together they sang with a pleasant vagueness, a quality common to the species of volunteer choruses that exist as much for the recreation of the participants as for their audience.” What a snotty — and stupid — comment.
It is snotty because it denigrates amateur choral groups — their purpose, passion, and professionalism, as if members of such choral groups — who have to pass an audition to be accepted - are less than musically fit. Indeed, poll a typical group of amateur choirs anywhere and you’ll find more than a handful of people who are fine sight-readers, excellent musicians on more than one instrument (besides the voice), and devoted members of their community.
Mr. Holland’s comment is stupid because it is not a review, based on evidence (not one word on quality, not one specific reference to interpretation) or logic. Because a chorus exists to bring pleasure to its members and audience, it therefore exudes a “vague quality”? What an unfortunate and biased comment. The name of the concert is “An American Awakening.” The title should serve to alert readers to the perils of criticism.
JOAN BAUM
—
Ms. Baum is a tenor in the Great Neck Choral Society. Ed.
Outrageous Behavior
Springs
July 1, 2007
Dear David,
Regarding your contretemps with the loud-mouthed anti-Semitic dumbass who opened his car door into oncoming traffic thereby hitting your car, I would say that you are a saint for agreeing to pay such a jerk anything at all but don’t do it! The money does matter — not in terms of dollars and cents (since you and the Polo-shopping, cream puff-driving dumbass can certainly both afford $200). But if you concede this to him when he is totally in the wrong, you will be enabling his outrageous behavior.
If you feel obligated to stick to your word about sharing the cost of damages, and since your insurance company says that you are not liable, you should call that aforementioned jerk and tell him that you’ll be using your agreed-to portion of his repair bill to make a charitable donation to the Anti-Defamation League in his name. And then, just for fun, you could tell your readers what company this man works for so we could all go visit it and try to guess which manager is the bigot.
Yours truly,
BARBARA DAYTON
Your Mr. X
East Hampton
July 1, 2007
Dear Editor,
Your experience, “Bad Day on Main Street” (June 28), is one of the wackiest things I have ever read in The Star. I would have given this anti-Semitic lout the back of my hand, not my business card, and your even thinking about sharing the cost of repairing his car is beyond my comprehension.
You are correct in observing that there may be more anti-Semitism in our community than we like to admit, though I think it rarely surfaces so blatantly as your antagonist presents. His confluent remarks about money and Jews are so stereotyped I am amazed that he, in this day and age, holds an executive position with one of the area’s important companies.
But perhaps I should not be amazed. Perhaps he really represents the attitudes of the people with whom he works, the friends with whom he socializes. We know the Latinos in our community are fair game for the racists and bigots among us. Is anti-Semitism lurking under cover? It certainly is something to think about.
I find your Mr. X particularly unpleasant because once he found out you are a man of power and influence, he became fawning and a wimp claiming that he had a Jewish grandmother to ingratiate himself. Did he also say that some of his best friends were Jewish?
I know that some hurtful remarks are often made by innocent and naive people. As an Italian-American I have been asked, with simple sincerity, whether there were any Mafia members in my family. In fact there were, but that doesn’t make the question less odious. And that is not the case with Mr. X. He is neither innocent nor naïve. He is an outspoken anti-Semite of a breed that I thought had largely disappeared, especially in a community such as ours.
JOSEPH D. POLICANO
Print the Name
Amagansett
July 2, 2007
Dear David:
Your hesitancy to print the name of the person who made the anti-Semitic remarks to you on Main Street in East Hampton following a very slight automobile accident is surely misplaced.
We see that you are conflicted about this, and we would like to weigh in on the side of disclosure. Whoever this person is, he has most certainly forfeited any rights to anonymity by his highly visible, loud conduct in a very public place. He has demonstrated a racist mentality that is very close to the surface and those who do business in this area surely are entitled to the benefit of your experience. We, for example, would be very grateful to know whom to avoid, since we feel that anti-Semites are people we would just as soon not associate with.
Failure to print the name of the person involved would go against the grain of The Star’s longstanding and very laudable tradition. If either of us were to be involved in an incident where the police were involved, we would find our names duly published in the next edition of your paper. Why is someone who acts out his racist hatred so blatantly entitled to be treated differently?
Sincerely,
SHARI and BOB THOMPSON
Against Abuse
East Hampton
June 26, 2007
Dear Editor,
When hundreds of people come together to support a cause it is a powerful feeling. The Annual Artists Against Abuse gala held on June 23 was a huge success and I want to say thanks.
The Retreat was founded more than two decades ago by caring and focused individuals who saw a real and terrifying need to provide safety and support for women and children who were victims of domestic violence throughout the East End. The passion and commitment of these individuals still exists today in the form of a dedicated staff and board, a cadre of volunteers, and generous donors who contribute to the mission on a daily basis.
At Artists Against Abuse we were able to recognize the contributions of our founders: East Hampton Town, which was represented by Mary Bromley, an East Hampton social worker and psychoanalyst, and Councilwoman Debra Foster, the East Hampton Rotary Club, represented by Bill Gardiner, and the East Hampton Town Police Department, which was represented by Capt. Eddie Ecker.
We were also able to recognize three couples who have played an integral part in the Retreat’s existence: Leonard and Judith Ackerman, Stuart and Lynn Epstein, and Harvey and Karen Silverman.
I would like to thank our celebrity hosts and auctioneers Lorraine Bracco, Bill McCuddy, and Nicholas Lowry. These three were able to take a difficult subject, domestic violence, and make everyone know the difference their contributions make to the lives of women and children affected by domestic abuse.
To the artists who donated their talents, to the numerous businesses and individuals who showed their support, to the event committee, to our honoraries, and to all of the people who attended Artists Against Abuse gala — thank you. You truly make a difference in the lives of women and children affected by domestic violence.
TRACEY LUTZ
Executive Director
Save This Building
Sag Harbor
July 2, 2007
Dear David,
Save the past for the future now!
The Sag Harbor Methodist Church is in grave danger of closing its doors to the public forever. A concerned group of citizens is seeking support from members of our community to urge our local leaders to prevent this historic landmark from becoming a private home.
The need for cultural and community space in the Village of Sag Harbor is great, even more so today as commercial growth threatens to change the character of this historic district drastically. In this, the 300th anniversary of Sag Harbor, do we want to celebrate by selling another of our local treasures?
We have an opportunity to create public space and to save a historic landmark. Preserving the past for the future should not be hindered by a price tag. There is time to save this building before it’s too late. Please, join our group of concerned citizens.
LIZ JOYCE
Fast Food Bar
East Hampton
July 2, 2007
Dear Editor,
If East Hampton does not have enough of a problem with under-age drinking, the new owners of the Snowflake intend to show us a new wrinkle — the fast food bar. Ten feet away from serving ice cream to children they will be serving alcohol to adults.
Having lived next to the Snowflake for 21 years, let me explain what the pre-existing nonconforming use on that property was. A cinderblock “Dairy Queen” with two windows facing the highway, operated by a local family, served soft ice cream and hamburgers for takeout.
Under an open canvas canopy were several picnic benches where you could sit and eat your cone. As soon as the weather turned cold the canopy was taken down until next season and anyone could drive by and see a cement patio with a bunch of picnic tables on it. With this bare-bones operation, the prices were kept local. Family members and other local teenagers worked the business.
After their lease ran out, this family-run business was dumped in favor of a succession of “upscale” operators. One of these owners cut through the wall of the cinderblock building and put in a long bar. He also enclosed the sides of the open patio. He then applied for a liquor license.
To serve liquor the state requires a restaurant with a dining room. Fast food places do not get to serve alcohol. The owners of the Snowflake contended that their enclosed patio was a “dining room.” Not even a Republican town attorney at the time bought this one. Nevertheless, he sat by and did nothing while the owners apparently misrepresented the nature of their establishment to the state. He did nothing to inform the state that East Hampton zoning laws did not permit a bar at this location and that the Snowflake under East Hampton zoning is not a restaurant. The state granted a liquor license and the town then told the owner that liquor couldn’t be served at the bar or at tables. That was the end of it.
We now have a Democratic administration in office. It is to be hoped that the town attorney will not allow another liquor license to be obtained under the radar with the misrepresentation that the Snowflake is a restaurant with a dining room. It is to be hoped that the town attorney will point out to the state that the Snowflake has a nonconforming fast food use in a residential zone and that ice cream for children and alcohol for adults do not mix.
Ed Gorman, take note.
Sincerely,
PAUL FIONDELLA
Hung the Flags
East Hampton
June 29, 2007
Dear Editor,
Construction is under way for the foundations for the historic buildings. Everyone at Town Hall is very excited and looking forward to the transformation.
I want to send a special thank-you to Ross Rowlinson of Montauk for making our construction site more pleasing to the eye, and patriotic. Ross stopped by my office asking if the town might be interested in hanging his “flags” around the historic houses. Ross then hung the flags and created a very pleasant site — all in time for our Independence Day.
I thank him again and wish each of you a happy and safe Fourth of July.
Sincerely,
WILLIAM E. McGINTEE
East Hampton Town Supervisor
Supervisor’s Office
Montauk
June 29, 2007
Dear Mr. Rattray
When people in town talk to me about “retaliation” if they disagree publicly with the McGintee administration, it does makes me wonder.
I had a meeting in Town Hall last week with a department head — an appointment made a week earlier, by the way. What transpired makes me wonder no more. I will mention no names. You will understand why.
I was invited to sit down by a friendly, professional staff. But a few minutes later there was an interruption, ordering the department head with whom I was speaking to report to the town supervisor’s office immediately.
When the department head returned, I was told the meeting would have to be terminated — instructions from the supervisor’s office. In the future, the department head said I would have to use the Freedom of Information Act.
First, I felt badly for the embarrassed department head. Then it occurred to me, what is the supervisor’s office trying so desperately to hide from the public? Quid pro quos? Secret deals? Special interests? Hidden arrangements? Mismanagement? Hiring practices? Employees’ complaints?
Who knows what would generate that rudeness from the supervisor’s office. That is a dismissal of his self-proclaimed open-door policy and open-government policy at Town Hall.
What is there in Town Hall — note it is the town’s hall, not the McGintee Hall — that the McGintee administration is afraid can be discovered?
Sincerely,
BILL WILKINSON
Republican, Independence,
Conservative, and Working Family
Candidate for Town Supervisor
Please Register
Montauk
June 30, 2007
Dear David,
Independent or more dependent? Help me understand the benefits of not registering for a particular political party and being listed as a “blank” on the Board of Elections enrollment list. Most people who do mistakenly consider themselves and want to be viewed as demonstrating their independence. But it does exactly the opposite.
When we vote for any candidate in an election, the ballot is secret and we choose from the list of candidates on the ballot that the accepted parties have chosen. Is that choice really ours? The question is, whether you vote for a candidate that you wanted or one that someone else chose for you.
By not registering as either a Democrat or Republican or any other registered political party, you cannot vote in the primary of that party which chooses the candidate that the party puts forth for election by you and the rest of the voters. Why give up the right to choose a candidate and platform that appeals to you? Why settle for anyone else limiting your options and telling you that you only have to choose the candidate that they have chosen for you to vote for and against?
It seems to me that while trying to act or appear so independent, in reality the “blanks” are actually more dependent on others making choices for them.
Really, regardless of which party you register for, you decide whom you will be able to choose as your candidate when you vote. That is what primaries do; they make the choice yours. That is what our democratic system is all about at its best. Getting the public involved in the process, as well as the outcome, will help insure that this system of government by our choice will endure.
For real independence, please register and be able to vote your conscience.
LAWRENCE S. SMITH
East Hampton Democratic Committee
Out-of-State Plates
East Hampton
June 29, 2007
Dear David,
I am responding to Joe Schuttler’s letter, dated June 16, 2007. There are many North Carolina and South Carolina license plates in the Hamptons these days and it is not because of visiting Bonackers. As Mr. Dayton said, there are hundreds!
I would personally love to believe that was the case, but it is not. The reason I say this is because in November I became quite aware of what was going on in the Town of East Hampton with out-of-state plates from North Carolina.
I never noticed how many Latino drivers there were driving with North Carolina plates until my life partner was in a head-on collision with a woman who pulled a U-turn from Damark’s Deli on Three Mile Harbor Road.
As I did research into what happened, it turned out the woman was unlicensed and didn’t own the car. A man owned this car and five others. The man lived here, but all the cars were registered and insured in North Carolina.
Later, I found out that in North Carolina you don’t need as much documentation to register and insure a car. Their rules are not as strict as New York State’s.
The unwillingness of people who live in this state to follow the rules is unbelievable, especially by immigrants who don’t play by the rules. If you are driving a car with a plate and living in this state, you should have a New York plate. That’s the law.
Mr. Schuttler, I have nothing against your fair state, but when you are driving in East Hampton the next time and you see a plate from your home state, take a look to see who might be driving. I would say 9 times out of 10, it won’t be a former Bonacker.
Thanks,
Jacqueline Bavlnka
Grey Gardens
July 1, 2007
McDonough, Ga.
To the Editor,
I recently visited East Hampton for a weeklong vacation with my wife. We very much enjoyed our stay at the wonderful 1770 House, and we enjoyed reading The East Hampton Star.
My wife has become a big fan of the Grey Gardens film and musical. Would you happen to know if there is anyone in East Hampton who might have old Grey Gardens memorabilia (news articles, photos, personal effects, etc.) that they might be willing to sell?
Thank you very much for your time and assistance.
BEAU KELLEY
Can Be Better
Southold
June 17, 2007
To the Editor,
More valuable tips on tennis that you should know are that playing tennis for many years, and not sorry, I found serving with less strength can be better. Hitting it with a slam can sometimes place the ball straight into your opponent’s reach. Reaching the net when you serve and letting the ball fall where it is almost touching the net makes it hard for the opponent to get.
Don’t let a very windy day discourage you. You’re not really playing your top game. I just love playing windless nights early in the evening before the sun goes down. It’s then I feel top of the world. Playing in tournaments that are early in the morning, a good breakfast, eggs, toast, even home fries, and a candy bar gives you a highest energy level. May you have a joyous tennis summer.
ANITA FAGAN
‘Shock and Awe’
Sag Harbor
June 29, 2007
To the Editor,
How long will it take to admit a mistake? How long will it take for a superpower to save face? In Vietnam it took too long for President Johnson to acknowledge we were stuck. And once again we are in the same place, still trying to save face. Corporate America took us to war with its slogan “shock and awe.”
The handwriting is on the wall. The numbers tell it all: 600,000 civilians lie dead. Another 600,000 with post-traumatic stress disorder and no one to care for them. Fifty thousand wounded. No medical facilities to treat our returnees. Over 3,500 of our young men and women will never return. Only one question remains: How long will it take to correct a mistake? How long?
In peace,
LARRY DARCEY
The Man Chosen
Sag Harbor
June 27, 2007
Dear Editor:
If it was meant to be a joke, it sure is in very bad taste: Tony Blair as peace envoy to the Middle East. How low could the United Nations, the European Union — not to talk of the initiator, George W. Bush — how low could they go? Rewarding a man who helped bring destruction on Iraq and its people and shame on the British.
The premier liar about Saddam Hussein — whom Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher armed with chemical and other weapons to fight Iran (in order to steal its oil) — acquiring uranium from Niger and being 15 minutes from launching a nuclear attack. This is the man chosen to negotiate peace in the Middle East, after he and Bush have bombed Iraq into the Stone Age. What an insult and shameless lack of conscience!
Who could trust Tony Blair — a man already without any shred of credibility, who would believe anything he has to say about peace in the Middle East? Is the intention for him to make matters worse in that part of the world? Apparently so.
What a lark, what a disgrace. Have the United Nations and the European Union gone nuts? Is this an opportunity for Blair to get his own oil well in Dubai?
Yours sincerely,
DAVID CARNEY