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Dense forests aren’t
to blame for mega-fires
Re: “Is it over? Depends on where you live” (Page A1, Nov. 16).
Precipitation not only influences the length of the wildfire season but also its characteristics.
Abundant winter precipitation has reduced forest fires in California in the last two years compared to the previous five. The biggest fires in the same period, like the Smith River, Corral, Post and Mountain fires, were largely grassland and not forest fires, where winter rains fed overgrowth.
Summer heat, low humidity and winds determine where difficult-to-control mega-fires occur. Total annual precipitation dictates which ecosystems are most affected. We must stop blaming overly dense forests for wildfires. Thinning does nothing to stop the sun and the wind.
To borrow from James Carville, “It’s all about the climate, stupid.”
Jennifer Normoyle
Hillsborough
Moral implications dire
for the war in Gaza
Palestinian American poet Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, in her National Book Award acceptance speech, urged action to stop U.S. funding of the genocide in Gaza. She declared: “I want us to feel and be uncomfortable and be disoriented and be angry and get up and demand that any administration … stop funding and arming a genocide in Gaza.”
Her plea highlights the moral implications of U.S. support for these atrocities. The administration’s failure to act, alongside criticism of the International Criminal Court’s call for Netanyahu’s arrest, reflects a glaring double standard — condemning Vladimir Putin while giving Benjamin Netanyahu a free pass.
The ongoing genocide and U.S. complicity demand immediate action. End military aid to Israel and uphold accountability for all leaders who perpetrate war crimes.
The world is watching. History will judge.
Jag Singh
Los Altos
U.S. is out of step
with world on war
Are we suffering from “foreign policy dementia”? This may have less to do with presidents or their mental condition than it does with our foreign policy establishment and its condition after some 240 years of existence.
Recently we used our veto four times in the U.N. Security Council to defeat calls for a cease-fire in the Gaza genocide and the related battles with Lebanon and Yemen. That vote was 14 in favor and only the United States against. We could compare that to the recent U.N. General Assembly vote to end the embargo against Cuba (60 years and ongoing) for the sake of interest. That was 187-2, with the United States and Israel voting no.
Yes, the United States appears to be drifting toward irrelevance or worse with its continued inability to get with the rest of the planet’s human population on common sense policies.
Mike Caggiano
San Mateo
Musk’s presence in
U.S. politics troubling
Re: “Trump put Musk on phone with Zelenskyy” (Page A2, Nov. 9).
Elon Musk’s self-insertion into Donald Trump’s weird orbit should be seen as very troubling. He may be a creative genius but appears even more self-absorbed, erratic and weird than Trump himself.
If Musk truly believes in government efficiency, his first priority should be the elimination of the massive government funding for SpaceX — and any other government funding for interplanetary space travel. In spite of Musk’s ardent promotion, prospects for human settlement anywhere beyond our home planet are slim. Those resources are better used to address urgent needs of human settlements here. (Incidentally, it has been reliably reported that Musk entered this country illegally, so perhaps he should be on Trump’s short list for deportation.)
It’s a safe bet that Musk won’t propose cutting any funding that threatens his own prosperity. Another trait displayed by this odd couple is greed.
Jerry Meyer
San Jose
NATO should quickly
accept Ukraine
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Is now not the right time for NATO to agree to accept Ukraine into the North Atlantic organization? Ukraine has indeed requested this very thing.
I see this as Ukraine’s best protection, with the current president-elect obviously not likely to counter any of Vladimir Putin’s policies. Donald Trump says he’s going to end the war on Day 1, but how many of us believe that means getting Putin to stop fighting?
The first steps to accept Ukraine into NATO need to be taken immediately.
Peggy Goering-Kuck
Pacific Grove