European Governments Have No Right To Take Over Apple’s Itunes
Dear Editor:
European governments have no right to force Apple to make downloads from iTunes compatible with the products of its rivals.
If music listeners don’t like the limitations of Apple’s products and want to be able to play purchased music on any device they own, they are free not to buy from Apple and to look for alternatives. They, or their representatives, have no right to dictate to Apple what capabilities to include in its products.
The violation of Apple’s property rights, as well as those of Microsoft and other American companies, is a serious threat to innovation and technological progress. If these companies are not free to create products as they see fit, and are not allowed to profit from their new creations, innovation will decline.
Regards,
David Holcberg
California, USA
Global Warming: The Other Side of the Story
Dear Editor,
Tom DeWeese has done an outstanding job of highlighting “the other side of the story.” As a climate scientist for over 30 years, I am quite familiar with the controversy that has surrounded global warming.
While I agree with those who suggest that human activities affect climate, it is my opinion that natural variations are a much more important factor in climate variability than are human-emitted greenhouse gases. That doesn’t mean, of course, that we shouldn’t reduce our use of fossil fuels. Conservation is always a good thing, and energy independence is a laudable goal. But the science is by no means “settled.” There is much we do not understand about climate change, and I would suggest that anyone who suggests otherwise is stretching the truth.
Regards,
George Taylor
Oregon, USA
Death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Dear Editor,
The death of Al-Qaida terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is great news but not as significant as many would have us believe.
Al-Zarqawi wouldn’t have been so effective without the substantive support of Islamic dictatorships, primarily Iran’s. Many have been misled into believing that the “success” of Islamic terrorism is primarily due to a few “exceptional individuals” like al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden, and that killing such leaders will defeat terrorism. But in reality the “success” is primarily due to behind-the-scenes support of dictatorships like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. (Canada’s “home-grown” Islamic terrorists are made possible primarily by the spreading of militant Islam ideology by oil-rich Islamic dictatorships like Saudi Arabia and Iran.)
As long as terrorist-sponsoring dictatorships exist, an effective replacement for al-Zarqawi (and other dead terrorist leaders) will be found.
In the aftermath of 9-11 President Bush rightly vowed to go after all the states that sponsor terrorism–which is the only way to defeat terrorism–but he has shamefully reneged. Meanwhile, Iran is building a nuclear bomb while the United States and Europe are hopelessly wishing for diplomacy and appeasement to somehow work. It’s time to wake up to who our real enemies are before it’s too late.
Sincerely,
Glenn Woiceshyn
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
