SECURITY BREACH
Soldier’s trial doesn’t address real culprits
The Bradley Manning verdict should leave none of us feeling more secure.
The real culprits were the designers of an information system that would grant any young soldier full access to a huge database of top-secret diplomatic records, emails, videos and documents.
Any competent data manager can use commercially available software applications to restrict access to only those users with rank, job title and reason for the specific data access. We need to find out why our Homeland Security and Pentagon failed us so miserably regarding these leaks.
MIKE DAYOUB, MILTON
‘MUSLIM BOOKSHELF’
Why no government grants for Christians?
It was grand to read the article “Libraries add ‘Muslim bookshelf’” (Metro, July 30) concerning our government providing grants to fund displays highlighting Muslim culture in library systems. It’s appropriate that we introduce our children to Islam — a religion of peace, and one of the world’s great religions. Moreover, libraries are an especially effective venue for this promotion, since this is where so many of our children study, derive their core values, and form opinions that are integral to their view of the world.
On the other hand, it does strike me as ironic that I’ve yet to see a grant from our current administration for library displays promoting Christianity — a religion on which our government and way of life were founded. Of course, such displays would constitute a clear violation of our doctrine of separation of church and state.
JIM WEBB, PEACHTREE CORNERS
CECIL ALEXANDER
Activist helped bring blacks, Jews together
We have lost a transformational figure in the city of Atlanta.
Cecil Alexander's passionate, lifelong activism should always serve as an exemplary role model for future generations of leaders to live a life of integrity, community service and a dedication to tikkun olam — the Jewish term for repairing the world.
He was an inspired leader, and guided the American Jewish Committee in our work to strengthen relations between blacks and Jews, and all our efforts to combat bigotry and extremism.
In the 1980s, Alexander joined then-Atlanta City Councilman John Lewis to discuss the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. They served as co-chairs of the Black/Jewish Coalition. Later, he joined in the American Jewish Committee’s efforts to change the Georgia flag, and introduced his own original design for the flag.
We extend our deepest condolences to his family.
DOV WILKER, ATLANTA REGIONAL DIRECTOR, AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE
