During President Bush’s visit to London he gave a wonderful speech where he touched on many important issues in today’s political scene. These issues include: Iraq, the global war on terrorism, the United Nations, the Middle East as a whole, and the ties and common values between the U.S. and Britain. It was a magnificent speech filled with insightful points and thoughtful expressions.

One attribute I admire about President Bush is his courage. President Bush knows that much of the world disagrees with his foreign policy, but he still understands that he must do what is right. He knows that we cannot live in a world where oppressive dictators answer to no one. The President mentioned in his speech that it’s not enough to meet the dangers of the world with resolutions; we must meet those dangers with resolve. If the American people are to live in a safer world, there must be courageous men like our President that are willing to stomp out evil. And that duty [to defend Americans] sometimes requires the violent restraint of violent men. In some cases, the measured use of force is all that protects us from the chaotic world ruled by force.

During President Bush’s speech, he spoke of the importance of spreading democracy. He even directly stated that if the greater Middle East joins the democratic revolution that has reached much of the world, the lives of millions in that region will be bettered, and a trend of conflict and fear will be ended at its source. I believe that this statement is extremely perceptive. If our goal is to one day achieve world peace, then our ticket to that world is democracy. The Middle East is where we must begin. We must end a cycle of dictatorship and radicalism that brings millions of people to misery. Wouldn’t the world be a better place with a democratic Middle East? Wouldn’t the citizens of the Middle East have a better life if they were free? Wouldn’t you feel safer living in that world?

There are those that argue that it is not our place to promote this democracy. They believe we should not impose our ideals on another society. To those skeptics: Freedom and democracy are not American virtues! Every person has an inherent right to be free. Free from tyranny and oppression. Free from brutal dictators that can kill and destroy with no consequences. As President Bush said, we cannot turn a blind eye to oppression just because the oppression is not in our backyard. No longer should we think tyranny is benign because it is temporarily convenient. Tyranny is never benign to its victims, and our great democracies [U.S. and U.K.] should oppose tyranny wherever it is found.

David Abroms can be contacted at DAbroms710@aol.com.

Almost two years ago, the U.S. government deemed it necessary to found a prison in Guant

Last week saw the rather violent protests over the FTAA summit. I agree that the Free Trade Area of the Americas does indeed have the potential for disastrous consequences not only here but abroad as well, possibly allowing for the overexploitation of foreign labor and resources among many other things. But as it stands, that’s all it is, potential. What the FTAA will entail is as of yet undecided and unknown, and while there is indeed a chance it could be disastrous, there is also a chance it may prove to actually be something beneficial, giving a much needed uplift to the economy both here and abroad.

It is a closed meeting, but every single point there is to be made about the potential dangers of the treaty has already been made. I’m well aware that corporate interests do have a lot of influence over these proceedings, but I don’t believe in this us versus them mentality that keeps painting corporations as monolithic juggernauts bend on global domination. At the end of the day, regardless of how much pressure and maneuvering there may be on behalf of the corporations, it takes at least two sides to sign an agreement, and I tend to give credit to the representatives of South American nations. I don’t believe anyone will sign an agreement that will rape their land and destroy their people, no matter how much power we attribute to the corporations. We’re dealing with agreements that have to be approved by entire nations. In fact, it is because of the amount of dissent currently seen all over South America (which, ironically enough, I don’t see much U.S. press coverage of) that I doubt the FTAA will get passed to begin with.

My disagreement with the protests stems from the fact that protesting is a very powerful tool, but like most large tools, they serve very simple functions. All a protest conveys is a great sense of disapproval and to raise public awareness. Yet the FTAA protesters are not anti-FTAA, they are instead trying to convey a more complex message regarding the various points they want representatives to keep in mind while drafting the agreement. They are using protests in lieu of open hearings as a constant reminder to officials of their points.

If the FTAA existed and even a fraction of the problems the protesters fear was a reality, then yes, by all means I would encourage the protests and the need for change. But as it stands, all they are doing is raising pre-emptive hell, and while they may have valid points, they are lost in blare of protest.

Endre Enyedy can be contacted at endre_enyedy@yahoo.com.

Re: “Standing up for the Palestinians” Editorial, 11/21

To The Editor:

This is a letter of thanks concerning the Editorial: Standing up for the Palestinians in the 11/21 issue. Having read the article we wanted to thank you for your objectivity and open outlook.
Many times in lectures on the Israeli-Palestinian issue a speaker will merely portray their own point of view and ignore challenging questions from the audience. An opinion that has not considered the alternative and questioned the challenging aspects of an extremely challenging and complex situation, is not an opinion that should be given credence to talk with authority. Lauren DeSalvo proved that her value as a respected speaker on the subject serves only the purpose of conveying her own personal opinion, and not that of broader education or understanding of the issue.
In light of this we want to extend our most sincere thanks for the article’s highlighting of that issue. It is refreshing and uplifting to know that there are people, especially those in the press, that appreciate the importance of objectivity, the imperative of education and the value of the alternative argument.

Sincerely,
Chabad at University of Miami

CORRECTION:
In the 11/21 editorial, the name of the representative of ISM was Lauren Anzaldo. We apologize for the mistake.

Even after all that has happened, we will have to wait to find out where the FTAA headquarters will be. Miami wants the FTAA secretariat, the headquarters site for the 34-nation trade agreement. Big business and power for Miami? Sure, for America too, to have a potential seat of power in a state that in 2000 already showed itself to be influential.

Governor Jeb Bush, Miami-Dade mayor Alex Penelas, The Miami Herald, and most U.S. trade officials are struggling to win the prize for Miami. Apparently, Atlanta, Trinidad and Tobago and Panama City, among others, are vying for the chance. “We have one foot firmly embedded in the Latin America and Caribbean and one foot firmly embedded in our great country,” Jeb Bush said about Miami. What if that’s the same reason Miami shouldn’t house the FTAA headquarters?

Advocates for locating the secretariat in Panama City are playing up the poor country role. There’s a low cost of living there, at least much lower than Miami, meaning it would be affordable to representatives from all 34 FTAA nations. Most other countries in the hemisphere have populations and cultures more representative of a greater number of people and countries in the region than Miami does. Anglo-Miamians invariably complain about the Spanish-speaking population, about culture, language, even race sometimes. Would a multinational organization be treated better in Miami than it would in Panama City, in the center of America?

Welcome to the

new Opinion Editor

There’s been a pit in the bottom of my stomach that has been getting bigger ever since I got to college three months ago. The pit is not a reaction to an ever-growing tolerance for alcohol in my quest for the freshman fifteen, nor because I’m homesick, nor because I’m pining over long-lost high school puppy love. The pit comes from none other than bona fide Newspaper Withdrawal. As a news reporter for the Hurricane, the one-article-every-two-weeks business has been such a dramatic drop-off from my past involvement in high school that I just haven’t been feeling like myself. I’ve worked for several different publications of varying content and quality, but all have exposed me to the field of journalism to the point where I’m quite nearly co-dependent upon it for survival. The lack of late night deadlines, layout nightmares, and screaming editors has dramatically disrupted the sense of balance in my life, which is why I came begging for a job on the Hurricane’s editorial staff. The thought of overseeing the opinion section just tickles me pink.

I began working on my high school paper, The Fanfare, at Berkeley Preparatory School in ninth grade, and was made assistant opinion editor by the end of the year. I transferred to East Lake High school in tenth grade and worked as a staff writer at the school newspaper, The Talon, and became news editor my junior year. While news editor, I was also the school correspondent for a local community paper, the East Lake Eagle, and worked as a production assistant at that paper the following summer. At the same time I was attending the Poynter Institute’s Program for High School Journalists, a yearlong course that is affiliated with the St. Petersburg Times, Florida’s largest daily newspaper. My senior year in high school I worked as a correspondent for a local bureau of the Times. It is my first year at the University of Miami, and one of the first things I did when I got here was to start writing for the Hurricane. I am double majoring in International Studies and Judaic Studies, and I am a member of UM’s traveling mock trial team, and participate in Tricanes, the triathlon club here at school. I am from Oldsmar, Florida, which is just outside of Tampa.

-Jillian Bandes