Letters

All correspondence should be sent to editor@monitor.net. We reserve the right to edit letters as needed.

Darker Alliances If the San Jose Mercury News ever does get around to releasing these stories (it sure seems doubtful they will print them) then please let us know, and print them if you can. Jeremy Sharp Nike Sweatshops Excellent reporting job: as a coach of 31 yrs, I allow no player to appear in Nike athletic gear. One player had gone so far as to have the Nike swastika tatooed on his arm, with his number in the center -- great team player, huh? Dave Martin (Michigan) The Corporate, Mainstream Alternative Press I found your site in a mention from the Redwood Justice Project info on the Judi Bari case. WOW! I live in Graton but didn't know there was an alternative to the Independent (sic). KEEP IT UP! We'll be reading. Bob Engel State Loosens Gasoline Spill Cleanup Rules I have a friend in Hobbs, NM with a two small children and her husband works in the petroleum industry. She doesn't yet know the effects of benzene and lead on the health of her family, especially her children, however, I do intend to inform her. I'll send her this article so that she may see the some of the lengths that "Industry" will go to in its protection of stockholder dollars. I'm also sending her documentation of the health effects related to that industry (none of which are good unless you are a stockholder), as she is "smack in the middle" of it. Darrel Butler (Texas) What Journalism is Really About I am an Argentine journalist, writer and professor at the University. I am very fond of the muckrakers and of Wallraff, and was very interested in the interview with Carl Jensen. Here in Argentina, it is difficult to not put students in danger; corruption and the Mafia are everywhere. Viviana Gorbato Like the Bear Lincoln Case My friend Virgil Payne was killed by Humboldt County Sheriffs in Hoopa Valley in 1981. I hope I am not the only one who remembers this fine person and the suspicious circumstances in which he was killed. There are major discrepancies between testimony from the officers vs. the dozen or so other eyewitnesses. The officers tesified that Virgil wrestled with one of them for his pistol, and was shot in the struggle. All the other witnesses said Virgil ran from the car he was driving, then was shot in the back from thirty or so feet away. Ballistics tests that could have confirmed either story were apparently not done. If they were done, results were not released. Witnesses' testimony was not considered in the investigation. This incident was never adequately investigated, which caused long-lasting damage to the credibility of our law enforcement and court systems. We can not expect or demand perfect performance from our law enforcement officers at all times. They operate under extremely stressful and dangerous conditions. We have every right, however, to demand and expect an unbiased thorough professional investigation whenever a death results during a law enforcement action. The investigation and trial of Bear Lincoln give the impression that government officials, OUR EMPLOYEES, are protecting each other at the expense of justice. This has far-reaching implications, one of which is the perpetuation of the perception by many that the legal system has two different standards for justice. I have the same question here that many had in Virgil Payne's case. It should have a simple answer: What are the results of the ballistics tests? Matt Horns Hostages in the Sewer Wars It seems absurd that those folks with functional septic systems, or that could put in some of the modern advances in septic system technology for less than $5000, should be required by thier "Government of the People" to hook up to a public sewer system fpr prices of $23,000. Tony Wood (San Antonio) More Than One Use For Newsprint I think if you were a better newspaper (and who can you call yourself one when you don't print), you'd give your Bear Lincoln courtroom pass from time to time to the AVA reporters. The Monitor is a "mushy" paper. You can't sit on the can and read it, which is a great place to read the AVA. So I don't read the Monitor, and can't see forking over money for a subscription. I can't drag a copy of it down to the corner and show the neighbors. Bill Jelavich For our subscribers in New York, Kansas, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Washington, Australia, and elsewhere: the "AVA" is the Anderson Valley Advertiser, a weekly newspaper familiar in toilets throughout Mendocino County. -- Editor