No Proper Relief Agency Exists

Both The New York Sun’s front page story [“Will Tsunami Aid Reach Terrorists?,” Eli Lake, Page 1, January 7, 2005] and the column by Alicia Colon [“Tsunami Aid: the Problem,” New York, January 7, 2005] point to the second global tragedy following the horrible devastation caused by the Asian tsunami.

The tragic truth is that in our politically fragmented world, there is no major trustworthy global organization to coordinate the relief efforts, and to receive the millions – or more likely – billions of dollars that must flow in to save and reconstruct lives. The United Nations is on the verge of being brought to task for its mishandling of the oil-for-food program, with highly plausible charges of corruption involved.

Can U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan scold the nations of the world for their failure to fulfill their pledges without inspiring suspicions that he just can’t wait to get his hands on that money with the identical lack of accountability that he apparently exploited before?

The Red Cross in America blotted its copybook after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when it admitted that many of the contributions it collected had been put into its general funds for other projects or for general administrative costs. The record of the International Red Cross is similar.

Now, through the effectiveness of global broadcast coverage, we don’t simply know of major disasters and their resultant tragedy, but we live through them and want to help. But whom can we trust to honestly use the money for the purpose for which it is given?

CHARLES BAHN
Manhattan

Whom Bloomberg Must Win

The New York Sun notes that some prominent Democrats are expressing support for Mayor Bloomberg’s re-election [“Democrats to Endorse Bloomberg,” Dina Temple-Raston, Page 1, December 30, 2004]. But surely there are many New York City constituencies who will make it difficult for the current mayor to succeed. Without judging the merits or demerits of the concerns of these opponents of Mr. Bloomberg, they are real problems for the incumbent. Allow me to list some of them:

(1) Opponents of Mr. Bloomberg’s push for a sport stadium on the West Side of Manhattan. The charge that only the owners of Madison Square Garden oppose the building of the stadium flies in the face of broad public objection to the project, including those auto and subway travelers who are already upset by the massive tie-up of traffic along the West Side.

(2) City employees, including police, firefighters, and teachers upset by what they regard as the city administration’s failure to bargain in good faith, often with rude responses from the mayor’s staff.

(3) Those disappointed by the mayor’s takeover of the public school system. This takeover has been viewed by many as disastrous, with schools run by a business man with no educational experience.

(4) Activist party politicos who resent Mr. Bloomberg’s (failed) effort to eliminate party-based primaries in the city.

(5) Smokers who have been pushed out-of-doors.

(6) Republicans who resent Mr. Bloomberg’s support of President Bush as less than negligible, and Democrats who resent Mr. Bloomberg’s conversion to Republicanism.

(7)Those offended by Mr. Bloomberg’s unprincipled willing ness to give support and money to anti-Semitic cultists such as Lenora Fulani and Fred Newman in order to gain a ballot-line from the Independence Party (controlled by the latter).

Often very wealthy people who enter politics develop a sense of invulnerability, but this may become hubris. The mayor risks becoming just such a person.

CHARLES EVANS
Brooklyn

Bilingual Ed. Good For English

Andrew Wolf continues to ignore the scientific research on bilingual education, once again referring to bilingual education as a “linguistic ghetto” [“The Biggest Threat to City Schools,” Opinion, December 29, 2004].

Bilingual programs use the child’s first language in a way that accelerates English-language development, and the scientific research confirms that it works. Nearly every scholar who has reviewed the research has concluded that students in bilingual programs acquire at least as much English as those in all-English immersion programs, and usually acquire more.

In addition, there is consensus among researchers that dismantling bilingual education in California did not significantly improve the level of English language proficiency of California’s English learners.

STEPHEN KRASHEN
Malibu, Calif.

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