Recent undercover investigations show
male baby chicks suffocated in plastic gar-
bage bags or ground to death; laying hens
crowded into small wire cages; injured pigs
killed by slamming their heads against the
concrete floor; and cows skinned and dis-
membered while still conscious. As theo-
logians debate whether there is life after
death, I wondered whether these animals
have a life before death and why I should
subsidize these barbaric practices.
I wonder no more, as I have now em-
braced a plant-based diet — green and
yellow veggies, legumes, fruits, nuts and
some grains. Occasionally, I indulge in
nut-based cheese or ice cream. Although I
was motivated by compassion for animals,
I have since learned that my diet is also
great for my health and for the health of
our planet.
Edward Newland
Eugene
REPORTING ON ALEPPO
Local media understandably rely on
others for coverage of Syria. Recent cov-
erage focuses on what the U.S. calls “war
crimes” in the battle for Aleppo. But most
Western media never get any closer to
Aleppo than Beirut, which is not even in
Syria.
These media often rely on the U.S.
government or groups like the White Hel-
mets, who get funding from the U.S. and
others attempting to overthrow the Syrian
government. It’s the U.S. that is acting un-
lawfully in Syria, as attempting to over-
throw a sovereign government violates
international law. Syrian president Bashar
Assad was re-elected in 2014 and is sup-
ported by most Syrians.
More than 1.5 million civilians live
in government-held western Aleppo, in-
cluding 600,000 who fled eastern Aleppo.
About 200,000 live in terrorist-occupied
eastern Aleppo, including 50,000 so-called
rebels and their families, according to the
Aleppo Medical Association.
Government forces could have flat-
tened eastern Aleppo long ago, but held
back out of concern for civilians. Assad
recently offered readjustment help to civil-
ians leaving eastern Aleppo, and even to
Syrian fighters who lay down their arms.
But the insurgents have continued pound-
ing western Aleppo daily with weapons in-
cluding “hell cannons,” firing gas canisters
packed with explosives, glass, shrapnel,
nails and even chemicals.
The disinformation from our govern-
ment and media cannot be detailed here.
Robert Roth
Eugene
rations in order to fund schools, healthcare
and other senior services. Oregonians who
know and love your store should be aware
that your negative position on the measure
puts you in the company of Comcast, Wells
Fargo and Monsanto.
Your position in the Sept. 8, 2016 edi-
tion of The New York Times argues that we
cannot trust our government to spend tax
money appropriately. This defeatist atti-
tude doesn’t capture the innovative spirit
of Oregon. Surely we can trust that the em-
barrassingly low high school graduation
rate (the fourth worst in the country) will
persist if we choose never to fund educa-
tion adequately. Oregon’s class sizes will
not shrink without effort. Our school day
and year will remain one of the shortest in
the country.
In short, who will read the books at
Powell’s if Oregon remains one of the least
educated states in the nation?
Perhaps you should ask yourself:
“WWBD — What Would Beverly Cleary
Do?”
Rachel Gillis
Eugene
POWELL’S DISAPPOINTMENT
START CARING
Open letter to Emily Powell of Pow-
ell’s Books in Portland:
As a reader and elementary school
teacher, I was extraordinarily disappointed
to find that you publicly oppose Ballot
Measure 97, which aims to tax large corpo-
I am writing to encourage the city and
community of Eugene to take action in
providing aid to our homeless population.
The amount of people on the streets seems
to grow every year, and I believe that Eu-
gene can do more.
Although downtown Eugene keeps
getting upgrades, such as the colorful lights
and fancy new stores, one thing seems to
be downgrading: the homeless and their
state of health. It seems that a good per-
centage of the growing homeless popula-
tion have poor mental health that puts them
in an even more challenging situation than
they’re already in. Downtown should be a
family-friendly environment, but instead
has been taken over as a refuge for those
without homes, and they are not to blame.
There are not enough resources to aid all of
those who need help in Eugene, and they
are forced to live on the streets.
Citizens of Eugene need to start car-
ing about all of the population, not just
those with housing. The homeless are not
invisible people. We need to provide more
homeless shelters, food and cloth drives,
free health clinics and outreach programs,
such as Opportunity Village Eugene, that
provide small, affordable housing. Al-
though tent camps and temporary housing
options are beneficial, we also need to cre-
ate long-term programs that work to get
out of poverty forever.
Zoë Pringle
Eugene
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and
will print as many as space allows, with priority given
to timely local issues. Please limit length to 200 words
and include your address and phone number for our files.
Email to letters@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044 or
mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
SPIDER MITES SUCK
SPRAY
KILLS
EVERY
ADULTS
3-4
& EGGS
WEEKS
131 E. 5th Ave. • 687-2805
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