Loss of Labor will not shove Sharon to right

The Sun's editorial "Mideast crossroads" (Nov. 4) made a common but mistaken assumption: That Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's loss of the Labor Party will make his government more hawkish.

But less than 24 hours after the editorial's publication, Israel's prime minister had already rejected right-wing demands and made it clear that on foreign and defense matters his government guidelines will not be altered.

Nor did the presence of the Labor Party inject a moderation that has now dissipated. If anything, the Labor Party provided Mr. Sharon with added credit through the good offices of Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.

Having lost the credit associated with Mr. Peres, Mr. Sharon is more exposed to international criticism than ever. This, coupled with America's need for quiet as war in Iraq looms, will make Mr. Sharon even more cautious.

Mr. Sharon's commitment to re-establish a unity government after the next elections not only confirms this, but appeals to common-sense, middle-of-the-road approaches at a time for Israel when war, terrorism and recession create an explosive cocktail of political instability.

Emanuele Ottolenghi

Oxford, United Kingdom

The writer is a research fellow in Israel studies at Oxford University.

The death toll rises for Palestinians, too

The Sun's editorial "Mideast crossroads" (Nov. 4) noted that the death toll among Israelis has continued to rise.

That is true, but what about the death toll among the Palestinians? It also continues to rise.

Both sides have suffered great losses.

But let's be fair when talking about the Middle East.

Magda Warsal

Towson

Let Arafat lie in bed he's made

In response to Shaul Mofaz being chosen as Israel's new defense minister, Yasser Arafat now asks, "What are we to expect of a government that is headed by Sharon with Mofaz to his right?" ("Israel's Sharon tries to save his shattered government," Nov. 1).

But what does Mr. Arafat expect and think he deserves? He had opportunities to negotiate with two decorated Israeli military heroes turned peace-seeking diplomats. Yitzhak Rabin shook Mr. Arafat's hand on the White House lawn in 1993 to start the Oslo peace process. And Ehud Barak offered a seemingly fair, comprehensive plan for Palestinian statehood and a road to economic prosperity.

But Mr. Arafat rejected that offer and called for an intifada while he supported terrorist activity in every way possible.

Now he is upset with the leadership of the Israeli government. But it is his own actions in response to gestures of peace that helped lead to Mr. Sharon being elected prime minister.

Mr. Arafat has made his own bed. Now he can lie in it.

Marc Okun

Stevenson

For some crimes, only death will do

Dan Rodricks suggests that those accused in the sniper shootings should be given life in prison rather than the death penalty, because only God has authority to take a life ("In sniper shootings, prison, not death, is best outcome," Oct. 30).

I agree that this is so in most cases, but there are exceptions. For justice to be served, certain crimes -- such as the multiple slayings in the sniper case -- by their very horrible nature cry out for the death penalty.

I feel that the survivors should have a strong voice in the punishment meted out and that we will not see any decline in murders unless and until the death penalty is carried out whenever it is provided for in the law and agreed to by the victim's family.

When justice is applied promptly and fairly, the number of murders will go down.

J.E. Hamilton Bailey

Towson

Time to put fiasco in Florida behind us

The Sun's editorial "Keep the faith: Vote" (Nov. 2) stated, "People are exhausted by negative television campaigning. ... The candidates win, the process loses."

I would add that we are also exhausted by the continual whining about the George W. Bush-Al Gore election in 2000. And another quote from the same editorial said, "A majority of Americans -- maybe even a majority in Florida -- voted for Al Gore. ... The other guy, the one who came in second, became president."

Come on, Sun -- just tell the public to get over it.

S. M. Schmidt

Baltimore

Arts groups brought mayor to the table

Let me add something important to The Sun's report about the mayor's cultural town meeting ("Baltimore's artistic community meets with mayor, seeks increased visibility," Oct. 30).

Mayor Martin O'Malley was brought to this first-time event through a partnership between the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) and the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA), an independent organization providing a unified voice for the arts and culture in the Baltimore region.

The organizations galvanized our city's diverse cultural community so successfully that the meeting was standing-room-only.

George Ciscle

Baltimore

The writer is curator-in-residence at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Trashing a treasure of the Northwest

In the never-ending journalistic search for the sensational, reporter Scott Calvert has inexcusably trashed a very beautiful and pleasant treasure of the Pacific Northwest ("City a magnet for the weird," Nov. 1).

And as one who has had the pleasure of visiting Bellingham, Wash., numerous times in the past two decades, I have to wonder if Mr. Calvert went to the same place. The Bellingham I visited was a very scenic, clean, friendly place, with a lot of justifiable civic pride in the improvement of the downtown areas that has been taking place in the face of a shrinking industrial base.

And as to "weirdness," I can name a lot of two-block stretches of Baltimore that contain more weirdness than all of Bellingham.

Cal Oren

Catonsville

Reading opens door to inspirational life

I was so delighted with The Sun's article on Mary Ella Fizer ("Turning the page on a harsh past," Nov. 4).

My mother in Baltimore is Ms. Fizer's longtime client and friend. And I have always felt that Ms. Fizer's life journey is an inspirational story that should be told.

Her determination not to fall victim to her past is amazing. She chose instead to emulate the charitable, caring people she met along the way.

Ms. Fizer did find her whole world through books, but her personal triumph comes from the way she processes and applies the knowledge she has gained.

Harriet Berg

Scottsdale, Ariz.