Letters to the Editor
busybody
Published Letters: 57 Editor's Choice: 9
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54,000 US Casualities
[Read the article: Ninety Iraqis, nine Americans dead in blasts]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Recent statistics have shown that for every soldier killed in Iraq and Afganistan, 16 have been wounded. That totals to over 51,000 injured. This number does not include those soldiers who have not sought treatment for PTSS.
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The Senate Is Going after Gonzales Re Wiretap coverup
[Read the article: ABC: Snow lied about Rove's role in purge]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]See: http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/pdf/ltr_031507_Gonzales.pdf
Finally.
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China's Progress Is Remarkable but the Invention Gap Is Still Large
[Read the article: Beware the "engineering gap"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]One measure of the pace of invention is the quantity of PCT patent applications filed by country. A PCT patent application is filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and indicates a desire by companies and individuals to file for patent protection in multiple countries in the world.
The lastest figures show that the largest filers by country and region are the United States and the European Community. Filings from the US are about 3500/month. Filings from Europe are also about 3500/month. Filings from China are about 300/month. In 2002, filings from China were about 50 applications per month. Thus, China has made remarkable progess in a short time.
There may be more PhD Engineers and MS Engineers being produced in China than the United States. So far, however, there is still a large gap between PCT applications filed in the US versus China.
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The Iraq War Is Nothing But an Incredibly Expensive Diversion
[Read the article: Four years, five speeches]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The United States effectively lost the next world war the day the Chinese blew up that satellite.
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Planned Obsolescence in Engineering Is Nothing New
[Read the article: Beware the "engineering gap"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obsolescence in enginneering skills and education is due to continuous rapid advances in specific technology areas that ripple through all tech areas. As the pace of these advances increases, the life cycle of an engineering career in a specific area decreases. As a result, engineers must continuously re-invent themselves.
This fate is one that all engineers face, be they from the US, India or China. This requirement to re-invent oneself is nothing new either. I got my first degree in biochemistry using a slide rule. There were no electronic computing tools. My first real job was in a laboratory and after six years, I faced the prospect of obsolescence in the form of automation. I went back to school and got a degree in chemical engineering, this time using an HP programmable calculator, and a key punch to code more sophisticated programs. I worked as a chemical engineer for almost ten years and saw the "writing on the wall." My skills were getting stale. I went to law school and became a patent attorney. Now, after about fifteen years, I see market forces starting to take their toll on the profession. Several years ago, I founded a software company and sold it to a much larger company. I am working a another company right now. About 35 years ago, when I started, there was no software.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of knowing some really great inventors who are Americans, Indians and Chinese. There is no culture that has a "lock" on creative thought. Schools probably could do a better job, but the best thing they can do is teach students how to think analytically and under pressure. Specific technical fact situations that will be encountered even a couple of years from now are not conceivable by teachers today.
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Its a "Scandal Harmonic Convergence"
[Read the article: Did Justice stall probe of GOP congressman?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]More information can be found here:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013821.php
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"Wolfie" Fancies Himself as a NeoCon MacNamara
[Read the article: Wolfowitz on the rocks]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He just followed in the shoes of his hero. Once again, the neocons distinguish themselves over previous "bad apples" by making their predecessors look good. Nixon is looking a lot better compared to the Monkey King. Wolfowitz makes MacNamara look like St. Francis.
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If Rice Were a Man
[Read the article: Condi Rice never looks back]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]She would be Alberto Gonzales.
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If they had given Falwell an enema,
[Read the article: "It is impossible to miss the discrimination against ... believers"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]they could have buried him in a matchbox. The same can be said for Gingrich.
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Clinton and Rice Are Too Much Alike
[Read the article: Hillary Clinton always comes prepared]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They both get their power from their "husbands"--a sitting and former president;
The media calls both of them "smart" but truly smart people wonder where that comes from because they have not demonstrated "smarts";
Neither has any creativity;
Neither has shown any courage of her convictions; and
They both have an emotional IQ approaching zero.
Rice has been one of the worst, if not the worst Sec. of State in American history. Clinton could not be worse than Bush but she could be bad. We cannot afford another bad president.
I will vote for her if she is the democratic nominee only because the repubs are far worse. I think there are stronger candidates in the democratic field right now and I hope that they can win in the primaries.
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Cancelled My Subscription and am Not Looking Back
[Read the article: The Murdoch Street Journal]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As soon as I learned that Murdoch's company was the new owner, I cancelled my subscription and signed up for the Financial Times, which appears to be a very good source of business and financial news. I did check out the letters to the editor last night--it was page after page--over a thousand postings, indicating that subscriptions would be cancelled.
I hope that Darth Murdoch chokes on his investment.