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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us June 14, 2005 Time to move ahead on AFN My, my, what heated rhetoric do we read concerning our fiber network. As a newcomer (only three years as a resident), I missed out on the formation of AFN. I don’t know who said what to whom about AFN a few years ago. But, as a happy Ashland resident, with standing equal to those who got here before me, I can only deal with what I see in the “here and now.” It’s called “living in a reality-based world.” It seems that the city of Ashland has issued a bond for about $15 million to consolidate past AFN borrowings and interest payments into one “pot.” That’s a “done deal,” and whether AFN is sold off or not, we residents of Ashland are responsible for paying off the bond and interest, As to ongoing operations of the AFN, it’s just about breaking even. AFN’s annual operating income about equals operating expenses. Maybe it will generate “profits” in the future; maybe not. But AFN does seem similar to a public utility, right along with water, sewage, and electrical systems. It’s called “civilization.” That causes me to wonder why anyone would want to buy AFN from the city of Ashland. It’s certainly not to make money based on the present rate structure. Gosh! Do you suppose that maybe a purchaser would buy it and then raise the rates? Selling AFN would likely result in higher cable rates for both AFN and Charter subscribers, and have no effect at all on Ashland’s $15 million bond debt. Let’s support AFN, and encourage the new director to make it even better. The cables are in the ground, my TV works, my computer lights up. Lets’ pay our bills, and worry about something else. Bruce Barnes Ashland Demonizing Palestinians Once again we are told that Palestinians don’t care for their children and that they use them as weapons [Letters, Jun. 1]. The simple fact is, however, that only about two dozen of the more than 3,600 Palestinians killed by Israelis since September 2000 have been youths bearing arms (guns, bombs and knives). Only three Palestinian youths (out of a population of over 3 million) have become suicide bombers (aged 17, 17 and 16). Nearly 700 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis in the last five years. Of the 645 Palestinian children known to have been killed by Israeli forces, only one was killed in Israel. Of the 113 Israeli children killed by Palestinian forces, 34 were killed while illegally in Palestinian territory. One in five Palestinians killed by the “restrained and targeted” acts of the Israeli military is a child; only one out of 11 Israelis killed by “random” Palestinian “terrorism” is a child. No Israeli schools, school buses or playgrounds have been attacked by Palestinians. All have been attacked by Israelis. Last year, at least five elementary students were shot by Israeli sniper fire while in classes at U.N. schools in Gaza. Deaths of Israeli children occur almost entirely in bombing situations in which they are bystanders to the adult targets. On the other hand, in 75-80 percent of the cases in which a Palestinian child is killed, there is no adult victim or target. (percentages derived from statistics and reports of the Israeli B’tselem and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights). Palestine is being occupied by foreign invaders — not the other way around. Dane Coefer Ashland Media won’t see Middle East gains If you look past the daily diet of bad news served up by the media, I believe Republicans and fellow conservatives who support the war in Iraq and U.S. foreign policy initiatives in Afghanistan and elsewhere can afford to feel good about the progress toward the development of democracy in the Middle East. I must admit that the intensification of the insurgency in Iraq is cause for concern, but recent reports show Iraqis providing authorities with far more tips on insurgent activities than even a few months ago and the fledgling political process is increasingly becoming Iraq’s good news. Most Iraqis and many other moderate Muslims throughout the region realize that you cannot build a decent society on the graves of suicide bombers and their victims. Similarly, those of us who wish to see peace and security for Israel and Palestine also applaud President Bush’s stance to stay the course to help that blighted land with assertive, hands-on U.S. involvement. The road ahead will be tough, but at least with our guidance they are now going in the right direction. But I share the exasperation of President Karzai of Afghanistan, who recently said during a visit in the United States: “Sometimes — rather often — neither our press, nor your press, nor the press in the rest of the world will pick up the miseries of the Afghans three years ago and what has been achieved since then, until today.” Our media needs to revisit the meaning of fair and balanced reporting rather than leaving it to bloggers such as Arthur Chrenkoff (chrenkoff.blogspot.com). Then maybe we would not have to suffer the daily serving of tired, defeatist rhetoric from the gutless liberal-left. Doug Forsyth Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams