Letters to the editor

Editor,

The administration began warrantless spying on Americans immediately after taking office in February 2001. At first, we were told wiretapping was not being done without warrants. We were told many other lies about government surveillance upon citizens. If all this was legal, there should be no need for unconditional retroactive immunity. We are a free republic and a nation ruled by laws, and our leaders in the administration and Congress swore to protect and preserve our Constitution. Allowing lawless acts that violate the legal and civil rights of citizens to continue without scrutiny will not protect, save or secure us. It will make us more vulnerable to further breaches of our freedoms and rights as citizens living in a democracy. So far, the "tools” of the administration (torture and illegal wiretapping) have not made us safer. Being ruled by fear, threats or intimidation is not the way citizens should live in a free society. Our nation went from a beacon of freedom and democracy in this world to mirror the same regime we overthrew. We are now the subject of scorn, ridicule and hatred worldwide. Giving immunity to law breakers will only encourage more to do the same: be it Blackwater mercenaries who murder in Iraq, telecoms here who violate privacy contracts and the Fourth Amendment here or others. No one or entity should be above the law or exonerated for political expediency.

Sophia Vratimos

Daly City

Easter bunnies

should be loved all year

Editor,

As Easter nears, those of us involved with domestic rabbit rescue dread the aftermath.

This year, how many rabbits will end up abandoned, neglected or left outdoors to be attacked by feral cats, dogs, hawks, raccoons?

I urge the public to resist the temptation of the "Easter rabbit” when it applies to a live rabbit. Rabbits are sensitive animals that require a lot of care and a special diet. They can live upwards of 10 years. They are not appropriate pets for small children! Please, this Easter, buy your children a plush or chocolate rabbit. If you want a real rabbit connection, volunteer at your local shelter, or visit the House Rabbit Society national headquarters in Richmond. (www.rabbit.org)You can make a real difference by fostering, volunteering or adopting a rabbit that needs you.

Rabbits are for all year, not just at Easter.

Susan Stienstra

Redwood City

The letter writer is an educator for the House Rabbit Society

Is a martyr an

automatic saint?

Editor,

The Organization of Islamic Conference intends to accuse Israel next week of war crimes against Palestinian civilians. How cynical.

Imagine the Nazi’s criticizing the British for bombing German cities after the blitz by the Luftwaffe in which thousands of innocent Britons were killed, maimed and made homeless, and after Germany wilfully slaughtered millions of non-combatants.

It’s not easy to draw a moral line which justifies the killing of civilians of a group which is attacking you, but that hasn’t ever stopped anyone from doing it; except perhaps Israel, which actually avoids operations likely to cause many civilian deaths. Were that not the case, Israel could reduce Gaza to rubble in a few hours.

Arabs gleefully fire rockets at Israeli civilians from amidst Gaza Arab civilians, but it’s a war crime when Israel kills the combatants and accidentally kills or injures civilians they hide behind.

The real war crime is to fire from within a civilian population, inviting retaliation that is bound to harm the innocent. Would Arab society ever condemn that kind of war crime? Hardly. The sacrifice of Arab civilians by their own is routine.

How convenient it is to be able to use martyrdom as a bulwark of one’s society. But it’s as sick and grotesque as any human behavior can be.

Desmond Tuck

San Mateo