Letters to the editor

Dear Stan,
I just wanted to thank you very much for the fantastic coverage of The Palm Association in GulfWeekly over the past few weeks.

The articles are well written and nice photos too! It is greatly appreciated and raises the profile about the work we do, and that means people give us more money to spend on the Bahraini families … a win/win situation! The paper looks good, keep up the good work. T. Andrew Morton’s pics are super!
Best regards,
Nadia Swan,
Palm Association.

Dear Stan,
“If the United States leaves Iraq things will really get bad.”
This appears to be the last remaining, barely-breathing argument of that vanishing species who still support the god-awful war. 
To better understand this argument, it helps to keep in mind the following about the daily horror that is life in Iraq: It did not exist before the US occupation.
The insurgency violence began as, and remains, a reaction to the occupation.
The next phase was the violence of Iraqis against other Iraqis who worked for, or sought employment with, anything associated with the occupation regime.
Then come the retaliatory attacks for these attacks - followed by retaliatory attacks for the retaliatory attacks.
Before the occupation, many Sunnis and Shiites married each other; since the occupation they have been caught up in a spiral of hating and killing each other.
And for these acts there, of course, has to be retaliation.
In spite of all of the above we are told that the presence of the United States military has been, and will continue to be, a buffer against violence.
If the United States leaves, in my opinion, it will remove the very foundation, origin, and inspiration of most of the hate and violence. Iraqis will have a chance to reclaim their land and their life. They have a right to be given that opportunity.
Let America’s deadly “love” embrace of the Iraqi people come to an end. Let the healing begin.
William Blum
BBlum6@aol.com

Dear Stan,
The British Council has launched a competition to run along-side its pioneering international exhibition entitled ‘NorthSouthEastWest: A 360º View of Climate Change’ which is currently on display at Beit Al Quran.
It is part of ZeroCarbonCity, the British Council’s two-year global campaign to raise awareness about climate change and the energy challenges facing the world’s cities.
To enter the competition, all you need to do is take a photograph or draw a picture on the theme of Climate Change. The competition is divided into the following categories and age groups;
Drawing competition, 7–11 years and 12-17 years; photography competition, 13-17 years and 18 years plus.
Winners of the photography competitions will each receive a 7.1 Megapixel Canon Digital IXUS 70 camera and the winners of the drawing competition will win BD100 of amazing professional arts supplies. The winning entries will also be placed on display at the British Council for everyone to admire.
The closing date is May 27 and you must be a resident in Bahrain to enter. For more information, please call Sonali on 39966841.
The NorthSouthEastWest exhibition will be on display at Beit Al Quran until June 5 – entrance is free. The exhibition features the work of 10 of the world’s leading photographers who took their photographs in 12 different locations around the world.
How does all this affect us? Bahrain could also be under threat from global warming as rising sea levels could mean that many parts of this beautiful island could disappear under water within a matter of years. A startling reminder of the looming threat was the long cold winter and slow start to summer experienced this year.
Karimeh Saiepour Communications Manager, British Council, Manama.
Editor’s note: A selection of images will also be published in GulfWeekly – your community newspaper.