Letters: Oct. 23, 2006

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Columnist Peter Beinart argued that military action may be the necessary solution to the horrendous situation in Darfur [Oct. 2]. He failed to mention the role that Muslim countries and leaders could play in pressuring Sudan to open up Darfur to U.N. peacekeeping troops. It is deeply disconcerting that the Muslim community and its leaders demonstrate an amazing capacity to orchestrate vocal opposition when they sense a slight to Islam yet fail dismally to channel equal energy into resolving the conflicts in Sudan and by extension in countries like Iraq. In brief: perhaps they need to focus less attention on the infidelity of the West and more on self-criticism and addressing the problems within Muslim-majority nations.

GOVERT P. ARENDS Retford, England

No, not another invasion! What is needed to save Darfur is a demonstration of political will. The World Food Program and UNICEF have not fulfilled their aid pledges to Sudan, and the African Union forces lack funding and equipment. It is the European Union that should offer the African Union all necessary support for a larger force. Political will right now from the E.U. would make it easier to bring Russia, China and some Muslim countries on board. Surely the E.U. can agree at least about Darfur. The citizens of the E.U. member nations do.

JOHN PEDLER Sarlat, France

When Home Is the House

I read with interest your article on teens playing poker [Oct. 2]. Two years ago, my 13-year-old son received a Texas Hold 'em set for Christmas. He learned the rules and tricks of the game very quickly, taught them to me and now beats me at almost every game. These days it's pretty hard to get him off the computer or PlayStation, but poker is something we can play as a family. Games like Clue and Parcheesi just aren't cutting it anymore.

MARY BETH SCOTT DeLand, Fla.

I have played poker and gambled for more than 45 years, and I have seen many people lose their homes and families to gambling addictions. What starts out as playing for pennies ends up as dollars. Parents should teach their children the value of education, not how to play poker on the Internet. The programmers of the online poker games know the usual outcome of the cards. Risking a gambling problem is a losing bet.

LESLIE B. DAVIS New Castle, Pa.

Folding Newspapers

Michael Kinsley's piece on the apparently dismal future of the newspaper industry made some valid arguments about the value of traditional journalism [Oct. 2]. Kinsley's attempt, however, to place most of the blame for newspapers' decreasing readership on the Internet and bloggers--whom he characterized as "some acned 12-year-old in his parents' basement recycling rumors"--is simply ridiculous. Kinsley's hyperbolic criticism confirms many of the reasons for the general distrust of mainstream media.

KRISTINE F. COLLINS Providence, R.I.

Kinsley should ask why people visit blogs for information instead of getting their news from larger, mainstream media like newspapers. It is because organizations lose credibility when they make judgments that are wrong. I got the impression that Kinsley wants journalists to be above accountability, that no matter what they print they are above it all. But the marketplace decides which products survive and which don't.

WILLIAM ROLSTON Vancouver