Letters To The Editor

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Paving the way

Please give past and present Ballina Shire councillors and staff a 'fair go' on Ballina's River Street redevelopment issues.

Before launching into useless printed ridicule, read the comprehensive staff report passed at the Ballina Council meeting of May 24 last (p183-186).

Interested councillors (shouldn't they all be?) are to form an internal working group to review the future of the CBD re-vitalisation, in accordance with Mayor Phillip Silver's public commitment. When the present stage is finished is the time for constructive, not negative, comments. People were consulted time and time again before present works began.

On behalf of the Lennox Head Residents' Association I spent many hours listening to the 1999-2004 council agonising about which courses to pursue, after receiving recommendations from its hardworking Main Street Committee, which comprised council and community representatives.

All our sympathy should go to the business and professional people of River Street. The noise, dust and other disturbances must be horrible. And from the council point of view, tearing up and re-paving an old, but busy thoroughfare is expensive, and fraught with difficulties.

But the council's Fawcett Street re-development is a triumph. Already the evolving streetscape of River Street is safer traffic-wise, more exciting visually, inviting for shoppers and pedestrian friendly.

Yes large vehicles block visibility when backing out from nose-in parking, but they can block visibility in normal traffic movement. So blame the vehicle size, not the parking method.

Aesthetically, River Street creates problems in being so long. I thought that the 1970s planning concept of an overpass would have cut that length visually, as well as taking pedestrians safely above River Street.

Remember in late 2000 how Ballina, in unison, was up in arms about being labelled by a Sydney newspaper columnist an 'Ugly Sister' of Byron Bay. I wrote then that Ballina was more of a Cinderella, needing a Fairy Godmother's wand. The council waved its financial 'wand' and 'Cinderella' is in the process of being transformed.

Then could council's redevelopment 'wand' please be waved over Lennox Head's CBD traffic woes?

Marelle Lee
Lennox Head

Bad taste

It's really nice to find myself in agreement with the opinions of RJ Poole! Spot on, Roddy, we have a delightful provincial city, with real character. We don't need or want these expensive expressions of one-upmanship cluttering up our city centre for a few years, until some future "planner" decides they, too, are out of date. Our capital cities and coastal conglomerates are full of misbegotten monstrosities. Let's retain our rural character and attract visitors who have some taste and discrimination.

Rosie Gibbons
Lismore Heights

Scum of the earth

To those scumbags who violated that dear old lady's place last week and eventually was murdered by these same scumbags, when the law eventually catches up with "them" they should be given not just a life sentence but a solid whipping also. They are a bloody disgrace to humanity.

Nom Reg Turner Davidson
Goonellabah

The train game

A neglected obsolete railway terminating in a dead end at Murwillumbah is unlikely to ever be a great success, but a modernised upgraded commuter service from Casino, Lismore, Murwillumbah and the Gold Coast, terminating in a live end at Brisbane could be, as the population explodes on the North Coast. Many people want rail access to the medical, business, entertainment, universities and travel hubs of Queensland. Can the Queensland Government help funnel this business into Queensland by extending their line south, and taking over the existing NSW corridor? (by lease or privatising?). Some past studies suggest it is a viable concept if allowed.

Friends who recently went from Brisbane to Mackay and return on the new Queensland Tilt train, say it was the most comfortable, quick, economical and relaxing train trip they have had, and they have been on many trains in countries overseas. They say there is nothing like it anywhere in NSW, where they live.

So I believe we must keep the existing corridors, lines and infrastructure intact so that a government of vision in the future can upgrade and extend it to connect to the Gold Coast/Brisbane line. It is not far from Murwillumbah to the Robina line, even less if Queensland rail extends to Coolangatta airport. The biggest obstacle is a line on the map, the State border, a huge hurdle as was seen in the Tugun highway bypass (and the NSW Treasurer also).

Ken Macdonald
Lennox Head

On his knees again

Has an Australian Prime Minister ever got down on his knees before and begged the US President to launch a bitter personal attack on an Australian Opposition Leader?

John X Berlin
Maclean

Innocence lost

I am sick of the paranoid expostulations of our politicians on the threat of terrorism and terrorist activity in Australia. You'd think that anyone of Middle Eastern descent, who wears a headscarf or who practices that unholy of unholies, Islam, was a potential terrorist. Whatever happened to freedom of religion, multiculturalism or that good old maxim that our law is built on: you're innocent until proven guilty?

Lydia Connelly
Lismore

Fenced in

Ted Bartos in "Just the facts" has almost made sense to me in the letters (Echo, June 3). At least here and there, but then he turned around and made little sense anymore. Kind of like loggers calling themselves the "Friends of the forest".

We are talking about compassion here Ted, not statistics. Read my lips: No war on foreign land, especially coupled with brutality, is accepted - from any perpetrator. Not even on your own population. Period.

Your assumption that democracy will solve problems translates as coming from one who is sitting on the fence, letting others define or maybe re-define what democracy is. I see it as complacent and your standing up for it makes it sound even worse.

I am delighted that you shared with us that you received honours over your thesis of the "Velvet" revolution in Czechoslovakia. Congrats. Really. Hmmm, errr.... I can only agree with your words there assuming that you may have wasted your time on that "thesis".

In case you are wondering how can one contribute a sensible and caring attitude in a few words without bothering with a "thesis" from afar, suffer no more.

Therein lies the secret.

I was born and raised under a totalitarian regime in Eastern Europe. I still carry the scars, dental and spinal injuries afflicted on me by the kind representatives of the "people's choice". I was just a child then, deserving none of that! It was called a democracy though. Today it's again referred to as a democracy and although today's parties are called by different names, they are still under the same number-cruncher's influence as before. Makes me wonder as to what tomorrow's democracy will be, while so many choose to sit on the fence and ignore compassion and basic human standards highlighted.

One day - in hindsight - you may choose to offer an addendum to your "thesis" you are so proud of.... Until then, don't let go of that fence post....

Stephen Lang
Tilba Tilba

Right is right

One of the nice things about being a member of the left is never having to admit when you are wrong. Pre-war predictions of half a million casualties, a million left homeless, tens of thousands of allied casualties and 3.4 million refugees (as predicted by Carmen Lawrence etc) might have all been wrong but you can still engage in after the event point scoring.

Stephen Lang might not be able to differentiate between Saddam's regime and America's, however I believe public opinion is much wiser. Our society, similar to America's, is open, inclusive, adaptive, protean and pragmatic, where even a Trotskyist from Tilba Tilba can have their views heard. This was not possible in Saddam's Iraq where freedom of speech was a life shortening experience.

Tom Koo in his May 20 letter asserts that I have "gone out with all guns blazing". That being the case Mr Koo, then you are firing blanks and you have missed all your targets.

Mr Koo then goes on to say that America is "only surpassed by China in the number of people it executes each year". Wrong! Since 1990 about 350 people have been executed in America, which pales in comparison to the 2,000/week that met a similar fate under Hussein's regime. It is impossible to determine how many have been executed in places like Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Cuba and North Korea. This is not the first time the fundamentals of a sophisticated argument have flown over the head of Mr Koo. History suggests it will not be the last.

Tom Koo then alleges that I said in my May 6 letter, "thanks to America we now have a torture free Iraq". This was not said by me in my May 6 letter or any other. Note to Mr Koo, the voices inside your head are not reliable sources.

It would be interesting to hear a leftist's analysis on the savage beheadings of Nick Berg or Daniel Pearl. Similarly where were the outpourings of rage when four American civilians were burnt alive, dismembered, had their bodies dragged through the streets before being hung from a bridge over the Euphraties River. Where were these great humanitarian voices when Saddam was carrying out his atrocities? You fulminate over isolated incidents when a minority of American prison guards humiliate prisoners yet you had an avuncular tolerance when Saddam tortured as many as 50,000 on a daily basis. You people need a serious reality check and a healthy dose of perspective.

Basically there were three choices when it came to Iraq.

1) The status quo and trust in the sanity and restraint of Saddam. A peace that left a tyrant in charge meant that more innocent people died.

2) Rely on UN action. We had already had 12 years of dithering diplomacy, 17 UN resolutions forcing Saddam to comply and a million Iraqi deaths. Perhaps another 12 years and 17 more final warnings was the solution.

3) The removal of his regime by force.

Perhaps in the socially inured minds of the left lighting a candle for world peace was the solution.

Unless you people can suggest a feasible alternative to bringing democracy to Iraq, then I doubt you have anything to contribute to this issue, or any other.

Tom Murdoch
Lismore

PS As for Christine McNamara's latest effort, it is a war! Bad things happen.

Tuned in

I would like to refer back to a letter from a volunteer presenter at community radio 2NCR-FM a few weeks ago, when he indicated that the radio station was intending to give the majority in the community pleasant music every morning, seven days a week.

Congratulations to you all. I can now switch on my radio at breakfast and then do my mornings work with nice music in the background without having to change channels or switch off. Thank you 2NCR-FM.

Nora Phelps
Lismore

The horror of it

I'm still getting over the horror. How can it be true. American soldiers committing atrocities in a war. I couldn't believe it. This was pure conspiracy. Not the beloved yanks, they are going to save us all. Save the whole planet from non-yanks who listen not to the burning bush. Because, global peace will only come with absolute free trade agreements with those who claim they're right. So I accept I'm wrong, always will be. You see, I think if you passed an international law banning individual gain from weapons manufacturing in a short few generations far less people would hijack planes with Stanley knives.

Marcus Davis
Lismore

A web of deceit

There is a prevalent view out there that the conflict in Iraq is "Armageddon" propagated by out of control "mongol hordes". To quote one correspondent - "Gorging rampage of death and destruction." Christine McNamara goes to the web, Iraqbodycount.net: "The attacks were premeditated, designed to cause the greatest possible number of civilian victims."

One must be wary of having a blinkered view of events. Just because something is cited as a "report" from the Internet it does not automatically become a holy grail, iconic and beyond scrutiny. If what Iraqbodycount claims to be fact is true, then Baghdad today would resemble a giant ashtray with the body count in the hundreds of thousands. To quote a US soldier as saying: "We shot the shit out of it", although very dramatic, proves only that, surprise surprise, lethal force is used in war. That must be the "mother" of all revelations. Civilian casualties are inevitable, especially in urban conflict where any male or female may be a walking bomb.

Here, good people, is a mere historical snippet, a reality check that will perhaps restore some balance in this one sided discourse. In March 1943 the SS divisions re-captured the Russian city of Kharkov. An estimated 10,000 men, women and children were promptly butchered in reprisal killings. The butchery of the Waffen-SS was not really remarkable - it was standard behaviour.

Needless to say, all wars are ugly, but he current conflict in Iraq was and is, in relative terms, a low intensity affair characterised by considerable restraint on the part of the US military. No dot com magic here, just basic indisputable historical facts.

Ted Bartos
Lismore Heights

How sporting of you, mate

On ABC TV, the newsreader proudly told us that the Australian Cricket Team has demolished the Zimbabwean batting line. Of course, the next match will be against your local school, so please turn up and applaud loudly at the wonder of the Australian Cricket Team, complete with Shane Warne looking for a world record, demolishing the batting line of your local school, while their batsmen hit the school team's balls over the road into the next field. Aren't they marvellous? And just look at the world records they are breaking? Who cares about politics when there's a team to beat? Of course, if the other side stands a good chance beating them, then politics is paramount and game cannot go on. Zimbabwean Refuge.

Pat Williams
Goonellabah

Food for thought

I wish to let people know via your newspaper that on Saturday, June 19 in the evening, when the Lantern Parade is being held on the river, the Lismore Soup Kitchen will be holding a fundraising stall near the skate park selling soup and having a sausage sizzle.

This will be a chance for the Soup Kitchen to raise much-needed funds for it to continue operating in our local area.

And it will be a chance for the wider community to not only be able to purchase something hot to eat but also to contribute to a much-needed service in our area.

The Soup Kitchen provides not only a hot meal and sandwiches but also a place where people feel a sense of belonging in an uncaring world.

The Soup Kitchen is not only for those battling poverty but also for those who would just like to have a conversation with someone else rather than spending all day on their own.

It is also a place of worship on a Sunday between 10am & 12pm, with a free lunch afterwards.

The Soup Kitchen acknowledges and thanks all those who support us, either financially or by donating food. So if you are looking for some hot soup or a bite to eat drop by our stall on Lantern Parade night, Saturday, June 19.

Helen Coyle
South Lismore

PS - Don't forget to rug up warmly! And Frank Cook's letter last week (June 3) was an absolute ripper - I nearly collapsed laughing - at the end of his letter that was! Thanks Frank for putting a very witty and sophisticated slant on the George Bush, John Howard terrorism mess.

Quote me

In his June 3 letter Ted Bartos makes a comment on what he calls "the spat between Tom Murdoch and the 'Coalition of the Ignorant'."

The way you put it Mr Bartos seems to indicate that you are quite satisfied with the intellectual standard, level of reasoning power and academic contribution of Tom Murdoch's letters.

Still, even though you and I differ on some fundamental points about America and its role in the world, it is refreshing to hear the cultured opinion of a man of your stature Mr Bartos. To answer your kind questions: Yes, I am a student of history, even at 49. And yes again, I have actually lived in a totalitarian country before. For 21 years. The first 21 years of my life. So I do know what it is like. And it is my unshakeable determination that I will never live in one again. Whether it is communist, fascist or corporate dictatorship; I won't have it. I for one am not going to give away my freedom, rights and liberties to the new would-be rulers of the world.

But what about people such as the Iraqis, I can hear you ask, don't we have a duty to liberate them? I will answer this with the words of the American author Norman Mailer from his book Why are we at war?

"To assume blithely that we can export democracy into any country we choose, can serve paradoxically to encourage more fascism at home and abroad."

I am afraid Mr Bartos that I don't share your optimism about America. The powerful forces of darkness within it didn't just start with George W nor will they be finished when he goes. To give you a clue what I mean, here is an excerpt from President Eisenhower's farewell speech to the nation on January 17, 1961.

"...We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations. This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence - economic, political, even spiritual - is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry? God save us all!

Tom Koo
Alstonville

PS - My nominee for this year's Pulitzer Prize is Frank Cook for his 'Child's play' article (Echo, June 3). Thank you Frank for the best belly-laugh I've had for a long time.

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