Last Updated:Friday - 09/24/2010
May 21, 2007
WCR Letters to the Editor
Global warming dubbed pseudo-science
The heated debate in Vatican over the bad science of the official IPCC models of global warming is an interesting development ("Vatican seminar on global warming sparks heated debate," WCR May 7).
The controversy has important ramifications for our politics and economics, and therefore for our future and the way of life. It is also the latest attempt of various elements to control the developed countries as well as the developing world by imposing their "leftist" and "statist" ideologies.
The CO2 hoax ironically started with the government of Margaret Thatcher, but later it was hijacked by all sorts of leftist, liberal, socialist, communist and "watermelon" (green on the outside, red inside) ideologies.
The issue concerns the growing number of highly respected climate scientists who oppose and criticize the IPCC models as well as the plethora of alarmists who want to misuse science for political purposes, by banning everything from cars to light bulbs.
The bottom line in this fiasco is that scientists, who cannot correctly predict what weather we will have for the weekend, are trying to convince us that their suspicious or outright faulty hypothetical models which forecast hundreds of years into the future are absolutely true.
There is a lot more in this hoax that needs to come out, such as the grants and the funding of scientists who do such ideologically motivated "research," or the bias of the media who don't care about normal solid research, but want to sell only shocking and doomsday news.
We are supposed to be the stewards and guardians of God's creation, and therefore we ought to conserve the resources, reduce pollution and embrace any reasonable environmental initiatives leading to sustainable development.
But we should not be fooled by pseudo-science, by political tricksters and manipulators, by the rich hypocrites and Hollywood stars, or by the prophets of doom who want to take away our freedoms.
Peter Hala
Edmonton
Guatemalan radio DJ disputes mining story
The May 7 article on gold mining in Guatemala ("Guatemalans fight gold mine's ravages") is a welter of inaccuracies.
Far from "crops, fruit trees and forest" the current mine area was desolate, almost barren when Marlin began operations. I was there. Marlin paid the few residents of the "sparsely populated" (World Bank) area over four times the market value of their properties, not a "nominal rate." The mine did not "strip away their gold."
Guatemala's constitution provides for state, not individual ownership of subsoil minerals. It is not true that "Only one per cent of all royalties must be returned to Guatemala." In fact in 2007 the gold mine is this nation's largest taxpayer.
Mining workers are "not underpaid as it is." According to Central Bank figures, the mining industry's wages are by far the highest in Guatemala.
The "peaceful expression of solidarity" when the mine equipment was en route with appropriate federal permits was in fact a violent wanton attack on a lowboy and accompanying vehicles, with hydraulics torn out and tires slashed. The same "peaceful" people threatened to burn me alive, while reporting, three days earlier. This all happened over 100 km from Mr. Tema's town, which is not even the mine location.
To Mr. Tema's, "the government should have consulted the people" ILO 169 provides that "Governments shall ensure that studies are carried out," which is precisely what the government did. A March 2007 IMF report states the company's community relations group, carried out "hundreds of consultations with participants in villages" and praised Marlin for its "careful document(ation) of information."
Carlisle Johnson
Good Morning Guatemala
FM 97.7
An Affiliate of ABC Radio International
Emisoras Unidas de Guatemala
Letter to the Editor - 06/04/07
Satan wins when he convinces us he does not exist
Lori Dexter (WCR Letters, May 7,"Heaven, not hell, celebrates the positive of our faith") does not tell us whether she is a practising Catholic.
From the content of her letter, I assume she belongs to a different faith tradition where "how and what we think" is more important than objective truth.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to "hell" at least 16 times, and in paragraph 1035 states, "The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity."
Yes, God is a loving, forgiving, merciful Father, but does Ms. Dexter not believe that we separate ourselves from God when we sin? C. S. Lewis warned us that Satan will have succeeded when he convinces the world that neither hell nor he exists. Are we there already?
Gail Schulte
Camrose
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