January 4, 2007 Letters and Announcements to Al-Jazeerah Editor

SIO condemns Saddam execution

Student's Islamic organization of India has condemned the execution of Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi government. Expressing fear of wide spread violence and bloodshed in Iraq, SIO leaders said that it will not help bring peace and stability; instead it will lead the invaded country towards a worst situation. The newly elected SIO president Mr. Bishruddin Sharqi said in a press statement that peace and justice could not be brought without withdrawal of occupying forces in Iraq. He also demanded the international community to bring George .W. Bush and Tony Blair on trial of international court of justice declaring them war criminals, as they are only responsible for massacre of Iraqi people.

Mr. Sharqi expressed his deep disappointment on the hanging Saddam at the time when Muslim world is engaged in celebrating Eid and performing Hajj pilgrim. It seems a conspiracy of dividing Muslim world in Shi'i-Sunni conflict, he said. He appealed the people of the world specially students and youth community to stand for peace and justice and to bring down imperialism. He also declared that students protest would be registered in all colleges and campuses.

-- SIO of India

D,300 Abul Fazal Jamia Nagar

New Delhi, 110025 00919810751156 91-11-26849817

prs@sio-india.org

www.sio-india.org

Birth of Jesus for Orthodox Christians is January 7

Dear Dr. El-Najjar,

It was kind of you to wish Christians a 'Merry Christmas'. Not all Christians, and particularly those of the Middle East follow the Vatican calendar. The Orthodox Christians follow a calendar that is two weeks later than that of the Vatican. For these Christians, Christmas Day falls on January 7. A traditional Orthodox Christmas greeting is "Christ is Born!" The response is "(All) praise to him".

Orthodox Christians are your neighbours and sympathize strongly with the Palestinians. The Crusaders (sent by the Vatican) sacked Constantinople (an Orthodox center) and the Orthodox were seen as much an enemy of the Catholics as the Muslims.

Sincerely,

Peter Lewycky

Mosque plans trigger neighbor's pig races

After "Freedom Fries" and "Freedom Toast", what do you expect?

How much worse can Anti - Muslim absurdity in the U.S become?

And the scariest part of this article is that, the same U.S organizations touting America as a purveyor of peace and tolerance, are directly responsible for creating the atmosphere which results in foolishness such as this instance!

Shameful, yes Surprising, no!

Tim Stinson

Mosque plans trigger neighbor's pig races

The dispute began when the association asked Baker to remove his cattle from its newly bought land. The association plans to build a mosque, community center, athletic facilities and a school. Baker agreed to move his cattle but thought the Muslims also wanted him off the land his family has lived on for more than 100 years. Earlier this month, Baker conceded that the Muslims probably aren't after his land, but he said he had to go through with the pig races because "I would be like a total idiot if I didn't. I'd be the laughingstock now because I've gone too far."

All the same, Baker plans to continue the weekly pig races until interest dwindles. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/30/mosque.pig.ap/index.html

***

Annan Made the Nations a Little Less United Against Israel

And in August this year, when Israel’s counteroffensive against Hizbullah in Lebanon had clearly failed to achieve its objectives, the Israeli government turned to the U.N. for help in ending the conflict. The world body responded with a Security Council resolution blaming Hizbullah for the war and with a strengthened peacekeeping force.

Just 10 years ago it would have been hard to imagine such a scenario taking place, and some are inclined to give Annan much of the credit for the change. As Shimon Peres put it at a recent farewell dinner for Annan, “there are things a secretary general must do, and there are also things that he is free to do. We shall remember Kofi Annan — and thank him — for the things he did that he was free to do.” What follows is a list, in chronological order, of some of those things:

http://www.forward.com/articles/annan-made-the-nations-a-little-less-united-agains/

Tim Stinson

The interview of Edwin M Wright posted at the Truman online library

The interview of Edwin M Wright posted at the Truman online library provides a wealth of information, it is a gem, a must read. It must be printed and read from start to finish. That was how I read it, and I was simply astonished that there existed such vast knowledge that I was not aware of. But I highly encourage everyone to just print it and read it in its entirety. Here are some excerpts:

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/wright.htm

Sophie

Thank You for this publication..

Dear Sir,

I am so grateful that there are other sources of information for American besides the mainline newspapers. For years, I have had the habit of searching other sources of news and information. It good to get different perspectives. Reading the history of one's country from a foreign writer can oftentimes be such a help in making sense of current events.

I appreciate your attempting to define various terms...infiltrate, terrorism, state terrorism, etc...It has always been encouraging for me to talk with an American after they have traveled in Palestine, and have been able to observe firsthand the terrible injustice that Palestinian people experience from day to day.

I have personally visited on serveral indian reservations in the USA. My observation is that they reflect the same psychology of the Palestinian people in Lebanon or Gaza. I witnessed an art & photography exhibit at an indian museum in Oklahoma. The images could well be those of Palestinians.

Please continue to make your news source, one that we can trust and respect.

Blessings to all who work for justice and real peace.

Allah ma'kum, God with you all,

James Sherman

Editor: There are as many Al-Jazeerah American writers as foreign writers, if not more.