What About the Blues Brother?

I went to see "Pearl Harbor" last night. I give it a 5 out of 10. I will give it an 8 if someone can answer a question for me. In the movie, Dan Akroyd (of Saturday Night Live fame) plays a Naval Captain at Naval HQ, in Washington, DC. He's an Intel weenie, trying to figure out what the Japanese will be doing by reading the "mail." Dan even gives a briefing in which he tells his superior "he has a bad feeling" about upcoming events. He even tells his boss, "It's my job to give you information, sir. Only you can decide what to do with it, sir," (or something to that effect).

Now, if the Navy had the ability to read the Japanese mail and if we knew about the attack, or at least suspected one, why was everyone asleep at the switch 'til the bombs started to fall? Did the men of the Arizona and the West Virginia have to die so we could get ourselves into a "good" war? And why is it after 50 years, some secrets from both the American and Japanese archives are still locked up? And can America handle the truth?

~ Michael Mitchell, Jacksonville, NC

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Europeans Not Jealous

[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column, "Why They Hate Us":]

…You state that Europe is jealous of the US.

Let's see:

Americans work 50 to 60 hours a week on average. Europeans work 35-38 hours a week on average. Americans need to worry about having enough money to pay for their kids education (something which is very expensive in the US). Most…European countries within the EU have free education. Americans need to worry in case they become seriously ill and cannot afford the treatments or operations to survive. In the EU, most medical treatments and operations are free (or very low cost). The rate of murder in the US is nearly 10 times the average rate of murder in the EU. Americans can be fired instantly, with very little in the way of unemployment benefits… The average European has very generous unemployment benefits, as well as strict laws governing terminations.

So, Europeans have more leisure time and much less to worry about… Now, you tell me – Europeans are jealous of Americans for what reason?

~ Keene Venables

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Dismantle Settlements

[Regarding Ran HaCohen's column, "Building Settlements, Killing Peace":]

…I do not understand why the major U.S. media will not report the facts as you did behind the ever-increasing population and number of illegal settlements. The current intifada is a result of the Israeli government not negotiating in good faith with the Palestinians. Why should the indigenous people of the land accept newcomers who enjoy special privileges based on race and religion? These discriminatory (no Moslems or Christians allowed) settlements must be dismantled immediately.

~ L. Pauls

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