Finally, articles and information like "Money to Burn" (11/11) may make a difference in how wildland fire protection, education, and training may be conducted in the wildland and wildland/urban interface zones of Monterey County.

Parochialism is primarily to blame, followed closely by public fire protection's self-imposed budget constraints, and agencies' unyielding reliance upon 19th century organizational, personnel, and operational strictures to affect the 21st century fire control.

I am very happy to see--and to be proven correct--that there are people out there who truly understand modern wildland and wildland/urban interface fire control, and who join me in voicing indignation against sloppy practices and policies.

Jeffrey L. Adkins
Seaside

Drowning Dissent

Mark Worth's research in your recent story about Cal-Am and its parent company, American Water Works, was eye-opening ("Liquid Assets," 10/28).

The article reminded me of the U.K.'s version of American Water Works, a multinational company called Biwater. Recently Biwater, which is seeking to privatize the water system in South Africa, began using the legal system to prevent anything deemed negative towards the corporation from being displayed on the Web.

How often are lawsuits being used here and now to squash discussion and dissent? This is a worldwide tactic that is becoming a bigger threat to free speech.

David Weems
Marina

Editor's Note: For more info on Biwater, visit www.corpwatch.org/trac/internet/biwater/index.html.

Recipes for the Rich

I laughed so hard over your title to my letter to the editor last month ("Eat the Rich," 10/14). Ha, ha, ha. Shall we eaten pickled, boiled, or roasted? Ha, ha, ha. Well drained, for the saturated fat intake has to be very high, with our high fat and cholesterol diets that are bad for our hearts and health.

A recipe for how to "cook" rich people would have really brought laughter to people's day.

Truly, I am jesting. I have no desire to eat people. Seriously. But (not butt) thanks for printing the letter.

Nita Elliott
Salinas

Give by Giving

It is time for Thanksgiving and reflection. Our country, our state, and our community on the Monterey Peninsula are experiencing periods of unprecedented prosperity. Share your good fortune. Remember that the rising tide has not lifted all boats, and that the level playing field has served to favor the stronger players--us. The world's poorest nations suffer crushing indebtedness to the richest.

Congress is now structuring a debt-relief package that allows poor countries to invest in their citizens' health and education. Contact your congressional representatives and let them know that you support the efforts on debt relief.

Truly celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

Bob Kelley
Pacific Grove

Love the Lobsters

This is a lament for all those lobsters and crabs that are held in tanks at seafood restaurants to be thrown in boiling pots alive. To all those people out there I beg of you--stop the cruelty. As long as you order live lobsters and crabs, this terrible practice will continue.

Jacques Cousteau followed the life of lobsters in a documentary. Their lives are as social as our own. They mate for life and protect one another with their lives. Once a year they travel single-file across the ocean floor, the last lobster willingly sacrificing his or her life for the whole regiment. They feel as we feel. They have fears as we have fears. And their nervous systems definitely are sensitive to pain.

If we are going to eat animals for food, at least we owe them a good death. In France, they freeze lobsters first. Since lobsters are found in the Arctic they can withstand cold temperatures better than boiling ones. Restaurants here should be serving lobster and crab this way, if at all. But they won't as long as they don't feel an urging from you, the consumer.

For the animals,
Sera Burg
Monterey

Send a Letter to the Editor | Post a Public Forum