Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Expanding Phila. port will create jobs

ISSUE | PHILA. PORT Expansion = jobs In reference to job creation through an expansion of Philadelphia's port ("Candidates debate port," Monday), Jim Kenney's assertion that it's "the most realistic and most lucrative job creation plan" is not only accurate but should be seized on immediately.

ISSUE | PHILA. PORT

Expansion = jobs

In reference to job creation through an expansion of Philadelphia's port ("Candidates debate port," Monday), Jim Kenney's assertion that it's "the most realistic and most lucrative job creation plan" is not only accurate but should be seized on immediately.

In May, my City Controller's Office released a detailed analysis that determined that a modern container terminal at Philadelphia's Southport could handle more than one million containers a year, generating 8,100 jobs directly and 12,150 indirectly.

The expansion of the Panama Canal in 2017 will open the East Coast to larger ships and direct connections to East Asia. Our competitors are making investments to compete for these ships; Philadelphia must not be left behind, especially since we have already deepened shipping channels to accommodate most of these larger ships.

We must now take the additional step of developing a modern container terminal and creating thousands of well-paying jobs. I am very excited about moving forward on this important initiative.

|Alan Butkovitz, Philadelphia City Controller, alan.butkovitz@phila.gov

ISSUE | WEST BANK

Don't blame Israel

Trudy Rubin places the blame for the recent Palestinian riots and murders squarely on Israel ("Danger signs on West Bank," Sunday). She dismisses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's legitimate fears that Iran will follow through with its expressed intent to destroy Israel, referring to his "obsession with the ayatollahs." Perhaps even more egregiously, she holds Israel responsible for the demise of the Oslo peace accords.

In reality, while Israel prepared its people for a two-state solution, the Palestinian Authority consistently violated the terms of the accords by preaching hatred of Jews from its mosques and naming schools and public plazas for terrorists who killed innocent civilians.

Rubin empathizes with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, giving him a free pass despite his unwillingness to enter into peace negotiations, his glorification of murderers, and his exhortations not to allow Jews to "defile it [Al-Aqsa mosque] with their filthy feet." It is precisely such incitements that have led to the most recent episodes of Palestinian violence.

|Richard Lowe, Oreland

ISSUE | VIOLENCE

Instead of force, let's try collaboration

During Pope Francis' visit, I listened intently as he spoke to Congress, to the U.N. General Assembly, and here in Philadelphia. I got to the Parkway to see this amazing spiritual presence in person. This was hugely uplifting. To hear values of liberty, inclusion, social justice, and dialogue to resolve differences being applauded by the huge crowd reaffirmed not only Christian values but universal values. My hope was that we could move in that direction.

Then we were back to violence as usual, with the mass shooting in Oregon and the bombing of the hospital in Afghanistan. This country, both the individuals and the government, turns to violence when feeling threatened. What will it take for the people of the United States to get back to moral leadership, to be rational and collaborative in dealing with conflicting points of view (such as those about what to do about guns), and not to rely on military retaliation instead of diplomacy?

I am ashamed and sickened to be a citizen of a nation that calls itself a "world leader" and "exemplary" when it is the most violent nation in the developed world. This is not what the Founding Fathers and our forebears had in mind for our country.

I hope we will wake up.

|Susan MacBride, Philadelphia, mainerocks@aol.com

ISSUE | CAMPAIGN 2016

Presidential debates? Not really

As a former collegiate debater and debate coach, I am appalled every time I hear or read of the presidential debates being referred to as "debates." The millions of viewers who watch these televised events are in a sense merely watching presidential candidates deliver short, memorized speeches as though they were impromptu, casual, and off the cuff.

A high school or college debate team has two members who engage in detailed, fact-based, time-limited discussions on a specific theme or topic against a team from another school. Trained judges decide the winning team. At some college tournaments, participants are required to switch sides and argue from their opponents' viewpoint the pros and cons of the issue.

The presidential debates should be called mini-speeches.

|Sylvester Kohut Jr., Philadelphia, jjs2000@aol.com