Re: Diplomacy, Dialogue and Détente

Dear Sir

Diplomacy, Dialogue and Détente are key elements for any successful foreign policy to be effective, especially in the advent of globalization.

With the Bush Administration bent on dictating how every other country ought to be conducting their internal affairs, the three ‘Ds’ are vital for defusing misunderstanding that could fuel dissent and hate. When a nation fails to incorporate these ideals, and other prudent ones, then that nation is eliminating those nations that could become important allies, or partners with whom concerns and ideas could be shared.

Each nation has its own unique traditional culture and customs. There is absolutely no homogenous mold that can be applied in an attempt to create democracy.

President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt said “The United States was running a foreign policy that promoted double standards on nuclear issues, ignored international opposition to the invasion of Iraq, and was meddling in the internal affairs of countries – including Egypt – by pressing for Western-style democratic reforms.”

President Bush needs to familiarize himself with these words for the remainder of his term, instead of believing as he stated at a recent Chicago press conference, that when it comes to diplomacy a country moves quicker alone. It is this thinking that has taken America into an ill-conceived war, colossal loss of lives on both sides, and billions of dollars in debt.

Ken Damally

Sunrise

School Board must set code of dress

Dear Sir:

I cannot express to you in this medium now disgusted I am with the way students in Florida dress for high school. My daughter started high school in Miami last month, and when I drop her off in the mornings, I cannot help but feeling shocked at the way the students dress -- girls in tight pants riding their hips, their bellies exposed; some in high, high-heeled shoes, looking like young hookers. This is bad, bad. Why can’t the people on Miami-Dade and Broward School Board see how bad it is?

The dress is affecting the discipline of the children. Already my daughter, at 15, is telling me that her clothes are too boring for school, and is beginning to have a bad attitude. If she had to abide by a specific dress code, not necessarily a uniform, but one in which both girls and boys dressed modestly, she would not feel as if she is being outdone and boring in how she dresses. AS A PARENT I INSIST THE SCHOOL BOARDS TO ACT ON THE CODE OF DRESS AT SCHOOLS

Fiona Hawthorne, Cutler Ridge