Opinion: Mailbag: Wine, Mbeki and more
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Once again, readers give us the business at opinionla@latimes.com. Philip L. Christenson gets no love for his Blowback ‘Defending Thabo Mbeki.’ From Wellington, South Africa, Claire Alexander writes:
How can you possibly produce articles on Mbeki defending his presidency manners and appraoches, especially with respect to Zimbabwe, by an author who ‘knows’ him. I am completely baffled. As a Scot now living in South Africa, Mbeki is one of the most corrupt and selfish presidents in the world. His people are starving and dying. Not a patch on Mandela. He would rather pocket the millions in bribes than actually feed his voters. He claims there is ‘no crisis’ in Zimbabwe…. Oh really. White farmers are continually being slaughtered with their homes set on fire to rid them of the country – to turn it into a ‘black’ country, when actually this was the only source of food for many. Talk about spiting oneself. He will kill anyone who opposes him, his people are also flocking to South Africa for a better life but most end up jobless and suffering disease. A young Zimbabwean was helping us move offices, he was smart and socially intelligent and told of the horrifying events that are REALLY going on in Zimbabwe, why isn’t the media exposing this??? Please, there is nothing positive about Mbeki nor Mugabe, the are as bad as each other and the worsening state of Southern Africa will not improve until these countries are under proper management. Claire Alexander
B.T. Birkett, no whereabouts given, says Mbeki is responsible for Zimbabwe’s troubles:
The shame is that Christenson seems to be exculpating Mbeki, et al for not sending in the troops and ridding Africa and the world of the miscreant Mugabe. Any headline or request for financial or food aid is a joke when the world allows a dictator and military strong man to destroy a county in the name of ‘black rights’, etc. Mbeki clearly abetted and supported all of Mugabe’s policies. Otherwise, there would have been South African troops in there to set things right. Now the world will be looking to the ‘West’ to resurrect this ravaged country. Mbeki is directly responsible!
Last week’s Dust-Up between Judea Pearl and George Bisharat brought this response from that great city to the north:
Judea Pearl’s history bookshelf must indeed be ‘worn and dusty’ if a short journey through it leads him to conclude that ‘Zionists were both aware and respectful of Palestinian aspirations and made persistent attempts to reach reciprocal recognition and accommodation.’ Rather than relying on selected quotes by Zionist leaders meant for public consumption, Pearl, should look to more current and iluminating historical works by so-called new Israeli historians such as Ilan Pappe, who draw on more recently released Israeli military archives and private papers of Zionist leaders in order to reach a vastly different conclusion about the motives of Israel’s founders. In his book ‘The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine,’ Pappe quotes the following words of Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion from a 1947 speech to senior members of his political party: ‘There are 40% non-Jews in the areas allocated to the Jewish state. This composition is not a solid basis for a Jewish state. And we have to face this new reality with all its severity and distinctness. Such demographic balance questions our ability to maintain Jewish sovereignty … Only a state with at least 80% Jews is a viable and stable state.’ It is this mindset that led to the deliberate expulsion of two thirds of Palestinians from what is now Israel. Ken GalalSan Francisco References:See page 48 of ‘The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine,’ by Ilan Pappe, 2006 for Ben-Gurion quote.
If you’re talking wine you’ve gotta be talking Bordeax, or maybe Bloomfield. Matt DeBord fans in both cities popped their corks in honor of his Blowback ‘Terroir-izing California wine.’
A message to Matthew DeBord Dear Californian friend I have just read your article on Californian wine sent to hell by East coast snobs. I find it very amusing, even more so as I come from the old world and more precisely from Bordeaux itself from which i am writing this. Though I love our wines, but not all of them, I also love American wines, some from the finger lakes and more particularly the great Californian names, and notably your zinfandel, unfound here. I also love the Santa Inez productions, zaca mesa and such namesBe reassured, many Europeans also like your western wines. The debate you are alluding to is less about wine, I find, than about the old rivalry between your 2 coasts and what ‘class’ is supposed to be. It shows that in spite of great progress Californians have not made it yet completely in the eyes of the Eat coast... wine is just a side object. I still get sneers from easterners (and it is worse in London) when I speak about my loving California. As a great lover of your state where I studied and go regularly, I just wanted to comfort you!!! and tell you I laughed a lot at your puns on how the French made wine... In fact, as you well know the methods are more and more the same on both sides of the atlantic.Hope you will come to Vinexpo 2009 where we can meet.Bye and ‘cheers’.BRC Bernadette Rigal-CellardProfesseurEtudes nord-américainesUniversité Michel de Montaigne-BordeauxFrance
And from the Garden State:
Dear Editor:Sounds to me like the European vinters are jealous of something we Americans are doing well, namely producing first class California wine. I’m not an oenophile, just a guy who likes good tasting wine. I know nothing about the art and science of wine making, nor do I need to. What I need is a wine that enhances my dining experience, is affordable, and tastes good. California wines haven’t let me down yet. Samuel MonacoBloomfield
Keep those cards and letters coming. Thanks for reading Opinion L.A.