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Ilya Shlyakhter (notestaff) - letters to editors
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Below are the 7 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Ilya Shlyakhter (notestaff) - letters to editors" journal:
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09:01 am
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danish cartoons
Free Speech, at a Price
Regarding Danish editor Flemming Rose's Feb. 19 Outlook piece, "Why I Published Those Cartoons":
The Muhammad cartoons were a bad choice for making a point about freedom of speech. They said nothing new, exposed no unknown bad actors, suggested no constructive solutions. In short, they had none of the qualities of speech worth defending.
Freedom of speech comes at a price; along with truly valuable speech we're forced to permit speech most of us would rather forbid. The only way to justify the price is by pointing to valuable ideas we would have lost if not for freedom of speech. What valuable ideas that were not already out there did the cartoons convey?
The cartoons have set back freedom of speech in the Muslim world by giving this Western value a bad name. To many Muslims, "freedom of speech" now represents not the great Western advances but gratuitous insults. The cartoons vividly illustrated the costs of the freedom of speech without illustrating any of its benefits.
The Danish editor's "defense" of freedom of speech was as counterproductive and irresponsible as Muslim rioters' "defense" of their prophet.
Tags: hidden_costs, replies, self-censorship, war_on_terror, washpost
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08:12 am
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letting the FBI snoop on what people read
Throwing the Book at Gelernter
Re "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover, but We May Find a Terrorist by What He Reads," Commentary, June 24: Citizens can't participate in government without educating themselves on "sensitive" subjects. To know whether the government's course in the war on terrorism is sane, we must understand the roots of terrorism.
That requires reading up on subjects such as jihad. But if buying a book on jihad can mean a visit from the newly powerful FBI, many won't dare. If you're branded a terrorist and sent to Guantanamo, what recourse would you have these days?
Thus, letting the FBI snoop on what people read will keep citizens from demanding needed changes to the government's course. That will materially hurt the war on terrorism.
Tags: hidden_costs, latimes, privacy, self-censorship, war_on_terror
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09:41 am
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allowing drug reimportation
Imports vs. no drugs
The opposing view on drug re-importation by William Hubbard, associate commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, mentions a patient who was harmed by imported drugs ("Risks are too high", High prescription costs debate, Aug. 23). But how many patients are harmed when they can't afford drugs because of the ban on drug imports?
People of limited means may just skip their medicine if it's too expensive. For many, the choice isn't between imported and domestic drugs, but between imported drugs and no drugs at all.
Tags: health_policy, hidden_costs, poverty, usa_today
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09:15 am
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gmail and privacy
Brought to You by Google
The privacy problems of Google's e-mail service, which displays advertising based on e-mail content, are greater than Google admits ["E-Mail Ad Plans Raise Fears About Privacy," Business, April 2]. While e-mail analysis is done by computer, the computer code that does the analysis must be written and debugged by humans.
If the ads have a low response rate, Google, to find the problem, will have to look at the attached e-mails.
Google promises that "no human reads your mail to target ads or related information to you," but that leaves open the possibility that its employees will read mail to improve the general ad-targeting strategy.
Also, by responding to ads, Google's e-mail users reveal to advertisers something about the content of their messages -- for example, the presence of certain keywords. That information can be associated with a name and address when someone orders a product, then resold to third parties.
Some people may find that Google e-mail is worth the loss of privacy, but Google should do more to tell consumers what they're getting into.
Tags: hidden_costs, privacy, washpost
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09:18 am
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preventing bioweapons proliferation
How Much Do Bioweapons Cost?
It is baffling that the FBI would refuse to pay $ 5 million (and issue immigration permits) in exchange for securing known stocks of bioweapons when we just spent billions on a war to eradicate such weapons in Iraq -- and have yet to find any ["Lethal Legacy: Bioweapons for Sale," front page, April 20].
A more cost-effective way to secure such weapons would be to offer money and citizenship to foreign weapons scientists who agree to turn in the weapons they have.
We also need to think, before developing new weapons, about whether they ever will be turned against us. Most of the weapons of mass destruction that threaten us were pioneered by the United States -- for example, the Stinger missiles that now are a threat to commercial airliners.
Once the genie is out of the bottle, who knows whom it will serve?
Tags: hidden_costs, policy_ideas, war_on_terror, washpost
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07:55 am
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costs of spam email
The costs of spam (editorial, Aug. 6) go far beyond the ''twinge of disappointment'' you feel after realizing you've been had. Spam costs Internet users 10 billion euros a year in increased connection fees, according to a 2001 European Union study. It also costs businesses in lost productivity, and becomes more than a nuisance when important messages get lost amid mountains of junk.
We can counter spam by not responding to its dubious offers. If you respond to spam, you encourage spammers to continue harassing others. Spammers pollute our electronic environment and waste its limited resources; let them face the same ostracism as ''traditional'' polluters.
Tags: hidden_costs, nytimes
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08:59 am
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reducing prison costs
Spend on Defenders
One way to reduce prison costs is to spend more money on indigent defense (Opinion, Jan. 5). Defendants represented by overworked and underpaid public defenders are likely to get longer prison terms, costing taxpayers more than was saved on defense. Closer scrutiny by better-paid public defenders would ensure that long sentences go to truly dangerous criminals, not just those poorly represented. This is a rare chance to increase fairness and public safety while cutting costs.
Tags: fairness, hidden_costs, latimes, policy_ideas, poverty
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to_the_editor's journal