Letters

salmon closure

Editor,

I am concerned about the potential over-ride by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of an upcoming decision by the Pacific Fishery Management Council that would allow for a limited 2006 ocean salmon season. It is my understanding that NMFS is proposing to close the entire California coast and part of the Oregon coast to ocean salmon fishing. Such a closure would strike a severe blow to the California and Oregon coastal economies from which many businesses may never recover. I urge you to prevent NMFS from overriding the Council’s decision. I also urge you to find a reasonable solution by directing NMFS to work with the Council to pass an emergency rule to forestall complete closure, and instead provide for a season that will address salmon population concerns without the severe economic impact of a complete closure. To avoid this problem in the future, it will be critical to address the underlying causes of the decline of the salmon population in the Klamath River.

At the NMFS’s March 6-10 meeting, the Pacific Fishery Management Council was faced with making a decision on the 2006 salmon harvest. I find it unreasonable that NMFS presented its recommendation to the council on Friday, March 10, the last day of the five-day meeting. This allowed for no analysis of the data and no debate on the recommendations. This is especially egregious since NMFS recommended a complete closure of all harvest in California and part of Oregon.

I firmly believe that a reasonable compromise can be developed if there is the will to do so. To date, NMFS has been unwilling to consider a workable solution. The NMFS opinion was developed without the input of the affected parties and was the most severe measure possible.

Again, I urge you to direct NMFS to work with the council to pass an emergency rule to forestall complete closure, and instead provide for a season that will address population concerns without the severe economic impact of a complete closure.

Mike Ebert

San Mateo

Emergencies and food aid

Editor,

The past year has seen a series of devastating humanitarian disasters — from the Indian Ocean tsunami and ongoing conflict in Darfur, to the hunger crisis in Niger, Hurricane Katrina here at home and earthquakes in South Asia. Each of these emergencies has led to an outpouring of support from the United States government, the American public and the international community. These resources are critical, but even as we respond to these emergency needs, we must not forget the millions of people suffering in relative silence elsewhere around the world.

There are over 850 million hungry people in this world; 300 million of them are children. Every year, nearly 10 million people die of hunger — most of them in situations we never hear about in the news. In fact, hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

The victims of headline-grabbing crises need our help, but so do the hundreds of millions of people living through less visible emergencies. Organizations working to fight hunger and provide other humanitarian services need more resources.

Cathy Nafissi

San Carlos

Students should

attend school

Editor,

Regarding the article "Students walk out a third time” in the April 4 edition of the Daily Journal, I cannot believe that students would not be cited for truancy by the San Mateo Police Department and not suspended for walking out of school when these very students who march against America need all the schooling they can possibly get.

Everyone, here legally in America, does have a First Amendment right to free speech, even though the marchers are supporting law breakers, but young people enrolled at local schools first have an obligation to attend school which is compulsory. I never thought the day would ever come in which so-called leaders in our community would be assisting in truancy and in defending illegal migration. This is known as when the insane take over control over the insane ayslum.

I pray one day these same misguided school children will actually parade around with an American, yes American flag on Veteran’s Day or the Fourth of July.

George Hoss

Belmont

The four letter words

Editor,

Would these people say them to the pope, the president, to a judge? These words are so foul it pays not to stand down wind of them, their words are so scat scented. You certainly can’t use them at a job interview; even persons with the best education can’t do that. While we train our children to enrich mankind, they show their bent minds with scatological phrases (not in our school curriculums). Taxpayers don’t pay for you to learn and use it. It makes you repulsive, no way around it. You put your own label on yourselves.

Remember foul mouth — you do it to yourself.

Name withheld

Belmont<