Letters to the editor

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Bhopal baggage

Editor, The Times:

The "Bhopal Hoax," (editorial, Dec. 6) in which the BBC was fooled into reporting that Dow Chemical had accepted responsibility for the Bhopal disaster, was most regrettable because it raised false hopes among the thousands of victims, still living in Bhopal.

These people cried bitter tears when it was revealed Dow instead continued to deny liability for Bhopal, despite the fact that it bought the liabilities, as well as the assets, of Union Carbide. The Times' suggestion that the hoax somehow implies that thousands of victims in India should be ignored is inappropriate in the extreme.

In a report from Nov. 30, Amnesty International calls on Dow to stop the two-decades-long refusal to disclose which specific chemicals killed and injured thousands, and to cooperate with medical researchers who are assessing the long-term health consequences of the gas leak and of the hazardous and toxic substances left on site since 1984.

The report points out that the questionable settlement with a corrupt Indian government was based on gross misrepresentations of the number of deaths (more than 20,000, rather than the 3,800 claimed by The Times) and injuries (more than 100,000), and does not absolve the corporation of responsibility.

Both Union Carbide and Dow have worked assiduously to dodge accountability, leaving thousands in misery. That's no joke.
— Larry Dohrs, Seattle Amnesty International USA's Business and Human Rights Program

Verify, verify, verify

Your editorial misses the point about the hoax perpetrated on the BBC. You cite this event as evidence of the dangers of the Internet.

Information from any source needs to be checked for accuracy. Before going with this story, the BBC should have carefully checked its bona fides. In this particular case that would have required no more diligence than a phone call to the corporate offices of Dow Chemical.

To shift the blame for responsibility of this hoax away from the media and onto the Internet is outrageous. The credibility of the Internet is not what ought to be at issue here, but rather that of the media. It is the responsibility of the media to check the reliability of information obtained via the Internet or from any other source. If it fails in that responsibility, it is its own fault, and it deserves the consequences.
— Jerry Policoff, Lancaster, Pa.

Dow not off the hook

How valiant that you vociferously defended Dow Chemical, one of the planet's largest multinational corporations. You didn't stop at simply criticizing the Dow executive impersonator for his deception. Instead, you took the opportunity to race to Dow's defense against the broader charge: that Dow has continued to shirk its responsibilities toward the victims of the 1984 spill.

The specifics of your defense? (1) Dow didn't buy Union Carbide (the U.S. company responsible for the spill) until 2001; (2) the Indian government accepted Carbide's $450 million payment.

First, are you seriously suggesting that Dow should not be held responsible for Union Carbide's past actions? If so, then you are absolutely incorrect, legally as well as ethically. Second, $450 million must sound enormous to your readers. In fact, this was only $300-$500 per victim. Clever readers may also have noticed that the aforementioned Indian government was co-owner of the Bhopal facility.

Most disturbing, though, is your final point: namely, if one person who supports a cause uses unethical means to promote that cause, then the cause itself is, by definition, invalid. By the same logic, then, abortion-clinic firebombers invalidate the Bush agenda.
— Jason Hodin, Seattle

Fish, not pork

Danny Westneat's column "Dubiously dealing out dough" (Dec. 1) denouncing pork in the federal budget makes the case well — with this exception. Apparently he is unaware of the Washington State University Beach Watchers of Island County. They are into fish, not pork.

The omnibus budget bill includes an appropriation of $250,000 to protect Puget Sound by expanding the highly effective Island County program to six other counties.

Founded in 1990 by the WSU Extension Service in Island County, Beach Watchers now has more than 250 volunteers. Each received at least 100 hours of training about marine and upland natural resources. In return, they have donated more than 95,000 hours of public service.

Island County's Beach Watcher programs reach at least 50,000 people each year through seminars, workshops, field training and personal effort. Their research includes monitoring 34 beaches using a nationally recognized protocol they developed and surveys of shoreline hardening, eelgrass beds, forage fish habitats and storm-water runoff.

When all this can be done by volunteers in one small county, imagine the clout of a grant to train new Beach Watchers in other Puget Sound counties. Even volunteer organizations need staff and space, just what the bill will fund.
— Fletcher Davis, Freeland President, WSU Beach Watchers

Building Burien

Working at a small medical office on 153rd Street in Burien, we are very excited about the future of Burien and the proposed town square ("Our (down)town: As Burien plans remake, some fear it's too much," Local News, Dec. 6).

The town square would bring much needed vitality to Burien and would benefit all businesses surrounding the new development. We hope that more people come to see Burien now and help shape the future of this city. It is an exciting time to be a business in the core of the emerging destination of Burien.
— Kirk Rehn, Burien

Bring back the bustle

I grew up in Burien, a long time ago. I graduated from Highline High School in 1961. Burien was a bustling, lively community. We shopped at Bell's of Burien, ate at Huckleberry Square, got treats at the Danish Bakery, even had fun checking out the baby chicks at the feed store.

One day, someone proposed having a large mall built in the heart of Burien. "Oh, no," the merchants said, "the mall will take our business away." Well, Southcenter went to, um, Southcenter. And guess what? The merchants were right. All the business went to the mall, leaving Burien entirely, turning it nearly into a ghost town.

Our family watched this cute little community fade away into something we did not recognize and still miss partly because we went to Southcenter to do our shopping.

I hope that the merchants of Burien don't make the same mistake twice. On a recent nostalgic trip back, my sister and I were pleased to see the arch and the improvements, but still noticed the stores on 152nd needed a boost. I'm looking forward to the "new" Burien because it holds special memories for me and my family and because there is such potential for new energy in the community.
— Jon Ann Cruver, Seattle

Dividing line

OK, here's a question: Since we have separation of church and state ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"), can or should the Catholic Church, or any other church for that matter, be protected from the debt of current and future lawsuit judgments by our federal bankruptcy laws? I look forward to readers' responses.
— Thomas Hall, Redmond