Dear alt.sailing.asa and uk.rec.sailing

McDiarmid wrote this letter to the London
Daily Telegraph:

"Dear Editor,

"The whole world rings with Christmas joy
and love as the capture of the indescribable
Saddam Hussein is announced. But, forgive
my ignorance, what has he done?

"It is true there are rumours of mass graves and
other nasties but the Security Industries of the
West churn these out routinely and it is said on
the Continent, where I live, that only the Brits
believe their media.

"All I see is a man who likes animals and children,
became the beloved elected leader of his people,
was falsely accused of creating weapons of mass
destruction and had his country invaded as a
consequence. So,what has he done?

"Dr Trevor Artingstoll"

***************************

My reply to him is as follows:

Now, there's old McDiarmid rearing his feisty head . . .

I must ask the dear man why would I wish to republish that
which should not have been published in the first place other
than in the name of a belief in freedom of speech?

Asking what has Saddam Hussein done to deserve being
dragged out of his hidey hole is tantamount to asking
what has Hitler done to deserve infamy? Some claim there
was no holocaust in the face of the overwhelming reality.
These same defective minds live on in those who deny the
reality of Saddam Hussein.

Even if "All I see is a man who likes animals and children,
became the beloved elected leader of his people, was falsely
accused of creating weapons of mass destruction and had
his country invaded as a consequence" was meant to be parody
or sarcasm the statement still does a disservice because it feeds
the ignorance of the chronically uniformed, supports the dogma
of the average leftist and, most dangerously, encourages the
enmity of the Islamic radical, stoking furnace fires of Jihad.


Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~