With the three-year mark of Sept. 11 approaching, we’re still not able to comprehend what happened in New York on that weary fall morning. Life has gone on with the hope that everything possible is being done to prevent terrorism, and that countries like Russia do all they can to fight their own terrorism. In the past three weeks Russia has endured an unprecedented amount of terrorism, starting with a suicide bombing in a Moscow subway station that led to 10 fatalities. The following week, two airline jets went down along with the 89 passengers aboard. Apparently two female Chechnyan terrorists strapped themselves with explosives and managed to get themselves past airport security. The final blow of Chechnyan terrorism came at the cost of 326 victims, 150 of them children, when 32 terrorists took hostage of close to 1,200 students, parents, and teachers on the first day of school in southern Russia. A total of 424 innocent lives were lost in a matter of three weeks.

Little is heard about all of this in the U.S., since the media doesn’t follow issues that don’t concern American security. In fact, during the school siege most people weren’t even aware of what was happening because every TV station was blasting fear-inducing images about the snail-paced breeze called Hurricane Frances. I understand the need to inform the public about their immediate safety, but the media also has a responsibility to report news of imminent danger around the globe.

The current government has used scare tactics since 9/11 to enact laws, and the media has always been willing to broadcast any hint of terrorism. Yet, many people don’t know that the U.S. and Great Britain have granted political asylum to people directly connected to terrorists. The U.S. encourages Russia to sit down and negotiate with Chechnya over a peace settlement; the U.S. has even held correspondence with the rebel Chechnyan government. Our government has a policy of not negotiating with terrorists, yet they act in the most hypocritical ways when it comes to their own interests. As Russia’s President Putin responded in regards to Western criticism, “Why don’t you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?”

The U.S. wants Russia to act in a civil manner when they are under constant attack. Yet we reserve the right to go into Afghanistan and Iraq and take the appropriate measures when it comes to America safety.

This isn’t something that should be an issue in the upcoming election; instead, this should be one of those eye opening conversation topics like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Tibet’s occupation, and the vision of Castro’s demise that gets everyone worked up over. This conflict, rarely mentioned in classrooms and almost never reaching the American viewer, needs to be discussed on college campuses to generate interest and stimulate hope that peace can be resolved, for any neglect of worldly events such as this only feeds our ignorance.

Slava Borshchukov can be contacted at v.borshchukov@umiami.edu.

To understand the hypocrisy of the Republican National Convention (RNC), one has to look back on what President Bush has accomplished these past four years: nothing (well, nothing of value, anyway).

George W. Bush came to Washington as a minority president, lacking a clear mandate from the voters as well as any real experience in the political world outside the one full four-year term and half-term he served as governor of Texas and his failed run for the House of Representatives.

Once elected, his administration had no focus and no objectives except to enact a series of ridiculous tax breaks that the country clearly would not be able to afford.

All that changed on Sept. 11, 2001.

The horror of 9/11 gave the Bush Administration a chance to organize itself and really accomplish something for the American people. Yet, as we all know, President Bush suffocated his record-high approval ratings to record lows with his isolationist, “you’re either with us or against us” stance on fighting the global war on terror in this ever shrinking world. That is the Bush presidency in a nutshell: the war on terror (which is now, apparently, un-winnable) and enormous tax cuts.

The tax cuts have all but bankrupted the federal government, while the war on terror and homeland security remain under-funded, citing several instances (I have the list if you’d like it) when appropriations bills were brought to a screeching halt because the Bush Administration and Senate Republicans “warned that such spending ‘[would] only expand the size of government.'”

We’ve seen this before with the Bush Administration and the “No Child Left Behind” Act, and we saw it again last week with President Bush’s speech to the RNC. Whether it was healthcare reform, education reform, social security reform, or national security reform, President Bush has failed to fund or ever present a plan for funding any of the things he promised in 2000 and is again promising in 2004.

Perhaps, next to “I suck,” a much more succinct way of paraphrasing Bush’s message, provided by The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart, would be along the lines of this: Elect Bush so he can finish the things he never started.

Luke Kosar can be contacted at l.kosar@umaimi.edu.

Despite the stresses of everyday life that face the people of our country, at least our children are not throwing hand grenades.

The problems that burden the American population became less important when I read about the situation that faces Iraqi children. Karl Vick, columnist for The Washington Post, wrote an article on Sept. 4 detailing the increased injury counts to U.S. troops in Iraq in the month of August (1,100). At the article’s end, he noted that Iraqi insurgents are offering adolescent boys $150 to throw grenades at U.S. patrols.

As the lives of Americans seem to abound with endless issues, there is always something to remind us of how privileged we are in this country. Without a doubt, there are certain aspects of our nation that need improvement, especially for the children of our society. As presidential candidates promise a better living environment for children and adults, we need the occasional reminder that the current state of our nation is the best the world has to offer.

Americans suffer from “bigger and better syndrome.” We are constantly in motion to improve upon what we have. We do not take enough time to appreciate our current blessings; for most Americans, the glass is always half empty. While we are attempting to enhance the already satisfying lives of our citizens, we cannot forget the choices that children of Iraq and Sudan make each day in order to survive another day.

I realize that it is hard for all of us, including myself at times, to look beyond our need for designer clothes and the latest tech gadgets. We ought to see that children on the other side of the world are coerced with payment to kill our servicemen and women who were once accepted as liberators by these same children. This is not to say that our personal concerns are frivolous, but when we look outside the “bubble” of our beautiful UM campus, we will understand that there comes a time when we should be satisfied with what we have rather than always looking for more.

Sam Rega can be contacted at s.rega@umiami.edu.

There have been many attacks against our President in this hostile political season. One of these attacks has become a cornerstone of the Democratic party. The President is accused of instituting a “go it alone” policy that has “alienated the U.S. from the rest of the world.”

These accusations are ridiculous. Over 30 nations supported our removal of Saddam, including Britain, Italy, Australia, Poland, Denmark, Holland, South Korea, Japan, and, formerly, Spain. But for some reason many democrats won’t call it a “multi-national coalition” until France and Germany sign on.

The fact that the U.S. has the leading role in this fight should be no surprise. When the civilized world has fought in the past century, or will fight in the foreseeable future, against a common enemy, the U.S. has and must take the leading role. As the lone superpower, it’s our duty to lead such just causes. The U.S. had an equally commanding role in World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and the Gulf War with no complaints from France.

We have also formed new partnerships in the war on terror. The most notable and beneficial relationship has been with Pakistan. Before 9/11, Pakistan was considered a leading supporter of terror, but after Bush said we will make no distinction between those that harbor terrorists from those that commit terrorist acts, President Musharraf of Pakistan decided to be an ally of the U.S. instead of an enemy. President Bush deserves the credit.

General Kaddafi of Libya has also had a history of hostility. In fact, we barely avoided a military confrontation with Libya during both the Carter and Reagan administrations. Today Libya has decided to comply with the international request to dismantle their WMD programs and to allow weapons inspectors full access to facilities. Why is Libya now complying? Maybe, after defying the entire world for decades, Kaddafi randomly decided that he was finally going to play nice. Or maybe he understood that when President Bush says something, he means it.

In addition, President Bush, through his forthright support of Israel’s fight against unprecedented terror, further reaffirmed America’s commitment to fight terrorism and willingness to support our sister democracies.

Since President Bush has taken office the world has changed dramatically. Iraq and Afghanistan, two countries brutalized by oppressive dictators, are well on their way to democracy and hopefully prosperity. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Pakistan are now strong allies in the war on terror. Libya is no longer a threat to the world. Our allies in Europe are standing strong with the US in fighting terror. Our Asian allies never left our side. Now all we have to do is worry about Iran, Syria, and North Korea. But we have only given President Bush four years. Let give him four more and see what he can do.

David Abroms can be contacted at d.abroms@umiami.edu.

To the editor:

Yes, Darren, you are entitled your opinion about President Shalala’s decision to accept Willie Williams (The Hurricane, Aug. 31), but I think you may be well off base. I agree that 11 arrests are ludicrous; however, there may be other circumstances for Williams’ acceptance to this University.

One expects that a story written by a journalist has been researched satisfactorily. True, your commentary was just your opinion, but even an opinion should be based on fact. Too often, journalists resort to fabrication, plagiarism and sensationalism, as evidenced in some of the more respected newspapers today.

President Shalala was privileged to information in Williams’ personal file that is not available to the general public. From that information, the officials of the University of Miami’s Admissions Office saw it fit to accept this young man. I know from my personal experience years ago that a lot of weight is placed on letters of recommendation that a prospective student has submitted as part of the application process. I sat in the office of a department chair as he ridiculed my grades as an undergraduate. However, when he read letters of recommendation, the department chair, just as President Shalala has done with Williams, accepted me into the program I wanted to pursue with conditions that I had to meet in order to maintain my enrollment in said program.

Don’t get caught up in the sensationalism of the press. Investigate the matter and give Williams a break. Talk to the young man and those who have guided him and see why they have hope for Williams as an individual and not just as an athlete. The courts of this land and this University did, why can’t you?

Edgar DeGuzman

Hurricanes Charley and Frances have put football in perspective, a perspective often lost in the frenzy leading up to and following hyped games like tonight’s University of Miami-Florida State University match-up.
FSU Head Coach Bobby Bowden lost two family members – his grandson and former son-in-law – in an automobile accident during Frances. Our condolences go out to him and his loved ones.
Unfortunately, it takes devastating situations like these to remind us of what’s really important.
We find it disconcerting that the greatest number of questions UM’s rumor hotline received during the hurricane had to do with the postponement the UM-FSU game. Students worried that they would not have the game to amuse them on Labor Day. Forget about the players, their families, and the anxious state of mind of Floridians. Instead of expressing concern over potential structural damage, power outages, and loss of life caused by Frances’ winds, we were most troubled by the rescheduling of a football game. The keyword, however, is still game.
Sports are a celebration of athleticism and a form of entertainment that, although necessary, ought to take a backseat to other, more important, matters.
We get carried away debating whether Willie Williams should have been admitted, whether Frank Gore or Tyrone Moss would make a better running back, and whether Brock Berlin deserves a second chance at quarterback. Tonight, we will whine about too few student seats and too long a wait to get in the Orange Bowl.
In the grand scheme of things, these so-called problems are immaterial.
Our football team is undoubtedly a significant part of the University. Indeed, it brings much-needed money and press to UM, and, as students, we enjoy the emotional outbursts, cutthroat rivalries and hoarsening cheering that come with a strong football culture. In addition, many student-athletes can only study at a university of UM’s caliber thanks to sports and the scholarships that they often bring.
Football, however, should not be the driving force in our lives. Tonight, when we spell C-A-N-E-S and squeal about the Hurricanes’ first downs, we would be well served remembering that – and counting our blessings.