Palestinians not to blame

Ken Frankel’s tiresome parroting of Israel’s line that Palestinians are to blame for violence in the Holy Land is as dishonest as it is transparent. [“Roadblocks, lies and bombs,” Feb. 8]. Reduced to its basics, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essentially the attempt of one people to usurp another’s homeland, as candidly expressed by the early Zionist slogan of Palestine being a “land without a people for a people without a land.” The forceful implantation of a foreign colony on an already populated Palestine sparked the conflict and continues to this day, naturally eliciting resistance from the indigenous population that Israel’s propagandists shamefully attempt to delegitimize as “terrorism.”

Mr. Frankel’s alleged opposition to Jewish settlements rings particularly hollow when he describes Gaza as “unoccupied,” since Israel’s so-called “disengagement plan” was a tactical scheme that merely turned Gaza into an open-air prison while freeing resources to further colonize the rest of the West Bank. It fools no one.

>> John Dirlik

Fuel-saving scam?

The blessings of technology are endless and allow me (a former Montrealer who misses her hometown) to avidly read the Mirror, despite living in Luxembourg (no, not a part of Germany—ugh!).

However, these blessings are limited by natural laws—in this case, that pesky First Law of Thermodynamics (I know, a real bummer). Given this, Zouheir Tabbara’s claims for his fuel-saving device on your Feb. 2 People page [“Clean explosions”] are somewhat off, and this should be pointed out to interested readers. Mind you, his SuperFuelmax device was qualified as “questionable,” but hmm, perhaps the wording ought to have been a bit stronger? Check out the following site that discusses the issue: www.consumeraffairs.com/news/fuelmax.html.

>> Ildiko Barlovits-Losch, Luxembourg

Athiest angle

[Regarding your article on athiest Richard Dawkins, “Holy balony,” Nov. 2]: Historically, the faithful have always been quick to judge and persecute non-believers, and I don’t doubt that they will treat this letter differently. Yet I wish to speak for all athiests—yes, those freethinking non-conformists among us who are, for the most part, secular and unwilling to speak of their beliefs in public. I am an exception: proud to be free of any religious prejudice or belief, and I find accepting this version of the truth has made me appreciate my life a whole lot more.

It is simply a matter of accepting the fact that we are all just homo sapiens, here after six billion years of evolution, nothing more than intelligent mammals. And that as much as we wish to believe we are different from the other creatures inhabiting this planet, we are made of blood and bone just the same. That means we are mortal the same as any other creatures. Perhaps it is our conscience, technology or intelligence that has made us obscure the truth with religion, yet really it is so simple.

So what of heaven and hell? I think they are simply myths created to make our death more palatable—made up long ago so the peasantry would work harder and abide by the clergy’s rules without question. If you worked hard and did abide, you would spend your afterlife in heaven, a great land beyond your wildest imagination. But if you were bad and questioned your faith, you would go to hell, a land of searing flame and endless pain. To think that, nowadays, intelligent people still believe in such myths is beyond my comprehension.

Why is it so hard to accept that when you die, your life is over and that the only thing you can do is live it to the max and be thankful that you had the chance to? Pray and grovel as you must to your unseen gods, but it will not make a difference in the slightest, as death will find all of us—it is the cycle of life.

As for morals, you do not get them from religion; it is how you are raised as a child. If the only thing stopping you from killing your boss or a slow driver is your fear of hell, then I am happy for your belief. I am a heathen, yet compassionate and generous, and being a non-believer also has allowed me to judge people not on their beliefs or religion, but on the person they are and how they treat myself and others. I find too many godly people are quick to judge solely on belief. Yet, ask yourselves, what really is belief? It is simply an idea in one’s brain. Not believing is a belief in itself, so next time someone says they are athiest, judge them on their heart and conduct and try and step past the religious prejudices that have plagued mankind since their conception.

>> Cory Keleher

Shovel information

Where can I purchase this wide-load Yardworks 22-inch Poly Sleigh for $32.99 as posted on your Web site? Please reply as soon as possible.

>> Betty Jean King, LaPorte, Indiana

[Matthew Woodley responds: Hi Betty Jean. I’m happy my article, “Hot Scoops,” has set you on the course towards a new snow shovel. The Yardworks line is exclusive to Canadian Tire, a company that unfortunately only ships within Canada. Avalanche does however make a similar product, which can be ordered in the U.S. from Aubuchon Hardware, www.hardwarestore.com.]