Page One

CORRECTIONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Daily Planet’s Friday article covering the hearings of three Berkeley students charged with violation of the code of conduct contained several irresponsible errors. 

For one, on a more technical note, the protest in question is referenced as occuring March 23, which is not accurate. The protest was on March 20. 

More importantly, however, was giving a crowd estimate of “More than 4,000 students.” The only place where you can find this number, as far as I can tell, is in the full-page advertisement the protesters themselves bought in the Daily Californian, and the various activist papers and websites which followed their lead. While I understand that crowd estimates were not given by most major newspapers, it is grossly irresponsible to report the crowd estimate from the protesters themselves, who have a tendency to overestimate their numbers, without pointing out the source of the information. 

Justin Azadivar 

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FOR SUSAN PARKER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Wow, wow. What a picture you paint (“One Woman’s True Life Halloween Horror Tale,” Daily Planet, Oct. 28-31). I know more about you from your short, brilliant and entertaining article, than I do about some people I’ve know my whole life. The fact that I could relate to many of the times of your life didn’t hurt one bit. You are a great read, and when a book comes out with your name on it, I will be standing in line. I’ll be the one with the mask, the one I’m learning to recognize. 

Don’t stop (a closing to a letter that I’ve never heard, but seems to fit). 

Patti Hyland 

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IS MARTYRDOM A CRIME? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The currency of journalism is clear language. But clarity of language requires clarity of thought, a fact that seems to have escaped the attention of many journalists. Euphemisms like “collateral damage” abound. Self-absorbed bias—friends are killed but enemies lose their lives—and fuzzy categories like “supporters of the former regime” may be unavoidable but should be kept to a minimum. 

“Terrorist” is one of the most used words in journalists’ lexicon. A terrorist act is a crime and so we are led to believe that a terrorist is a criminal. Are journalists self-serving, servile or just plain lazy to habitually refer to suicide bombers as terrorists? Such labeling inexcusably denies the fact that to his countrymen the suicide is a martyr.  

Why is martyrdom ennobling for us but impossible for our enemies? 

If a person wants to spread fear then suicide is an extreme and stupid way to do it. Suicide is not done solely for the purpose of terrorizing. Were it so we’d have to interpret Patrick Henry’s famous cry, “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” as an endorsement of terrorism.  

Finally, referring to suicide bombers as terrorists implicitly ignores the central fact of Jesus’ life. According to St. John’s Gospel, Chapter 15, verse13, “Greater love than this hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friends.” 

Marvin Chachere  

San Pablo 

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HEALTHY FORESTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As the fires in Southern California demonstrate, it is critical that we focus scarce federal resources in the areas where they will protect communities at risk. Unfortunately, President Bush’s so-called “Healthy” Forests Initiative, which the Senate may vote on this week, fails to adequately protect communities at risk from forest fires.  

It places the care and upkeep of our National Forests in the hands of the logging industry, rather than our National Forest Service and the public, calling for fire prevention management by said industry.  

Will they really do the job, or simply log the biggest, oldest, most profitable, and most fire-resistant trees, rather than the smaller unprofitable underbrush and saplings. The management of our forests cannot be placed in the hands of those who profit greatest from it; that makes no sense at all.  

It also weakens environmental protections, interferes with the independent judiciary, and undermines public participation in decisions that affect our public lands. But the worst is that it authorizes logging of old growth fire-resistant trees, whose thick bark can stop fire. We need these old growth trees to act as a bulwark against catastrophic wildfires.  

To protect lives and communities at risk from fire, Senators Feinstein and Boxer should vote against this deal and instead focus federal funding and resources on protecting communities at risk of catastrophic wildfire.  

Sierra Barnes 

Oakland 

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