28 The QUEE NS Courier • FEBRUARY 14, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial THE QUEENS Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 website: www.queenscourier.com e-mail:editorial@queenscourier.com ads@queenscourier.com queenscourier@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2013 by The Queens Courier All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Quens Courier and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. IDENTIFY THIS PLACE letters Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Tonia N. Cimino Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Wayne Robins Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Melisa Chan, Alexa Altman, Terence Cullen Cristabelle Tumola, Maggie Hayes Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Bill Krese Jan DiGeronimo Louise Cavaliere Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Publisher & E ditor Co-Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-In-Chief VP, Events, Web & Social Media Art Director Copy Editor Assistant to Publisher Assistant Art Director Artists Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Web Editor Editorial Cartoonist Director, Business Developm ent Senior Acc ount Executive Classified Manager Controller President & CEO Vice President To find out the answer to last week’s “Identify this place” please visit www.QueensCourier.com Country must be prepared One area that Congress must not reduce funding for is the Pentagon. There are so many potential hot spots around the world, and some of them have really gotten worse, such as the Syrian civil war, North Korea’s bellicose threats and the ongoing dispute between China and Japan over the islands in the South China Sea. The United States must maintain military levels that will allow it to be able to respond to potential conflicts, and it must not ever be in a weakened state, because that would send the wrong message to potential adversaries that we could not respond with sufficient military strength. Congress must not slash even one dollar of the Pentagon’s budget. Our nation must be vigilant and well prepared at all times, especially after September 11, 2001. John Amato, Fresh Meadows Lenten fasting February 13 marked the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period before Easter when Catholics abstain from meat and dairy products in remembrance of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting before launching his ministry. Devout Catholics and some other Christian denominations who observe meatless Lent help reduce their risk of chronic disease, as well as preventing environmental degradation and animal abuse. Dozens of medical reports have linked consumption of animal products with elevated risk of heart failure, stroke, cancer and other diseases. A 2007 U.N. report named meat production as the largest source of greenhouse gases and water pollution. Undercover investigations have documented farm animals being beaten, caged, crowded, deprived, mutilated and shocked. Lent offers a superb opportunity to honor Jesus’ powerful message of compassion and love by adopting a meat-free diet for Lent and beyond. It’s the diet mandated in Genesis and observed in the Garden of Eden. Every supermarket offers a rich array of meat and dairy alternatives, as well as the more traditional vegetables, fruits, and grains. Entering “vegetarian” in your favorite search engine provides lots of meat replacement products, recipes and transition tips. Quentin Clark Bayside Trees must be inspected It has been nearly four months since Sandy and the early November Nor’easter that struck our region. Thousands of trees were uprooted and destroyed and hundreds more were damaged. There are thousands of trees that survived both storms, but many of these may have been substantially weakened. It is imperative that the New York City Department of Parks, along with its Division of Forestry, begin massive inspections of all of the trees lining the city’s streets, parks and playgrounds to determine the sturdiness of them. When the trees leaf out in the spring, they will once again be top heavy, giving the wind more surface area to hit. With the spring and summer season approaching, it is very possible that any weakened trees will topple over in high winds and in severe thunderstorms, which would cause damage, injury, and even death. The city must make this a top priority. The safety of the public in parks, playgrounds and on city streets is of the utmost importance. Inspect all of the trees, remove those that are weakened, and maintain those that are healthy with annual pruning. John Amato, Fresh Meadows Need progressive leadership Comunilife claims to be succeeding with residential housing in neighborhoods in Manhattan and in Brooklyn. I don’t agree with State Senator Tony Avella for shutting down the discussion. I don’t know if it’s feasible financially to place these disadvantaged people in small residential housing, as was suggested at the recent town hall. Let a task force determine whether it really is being successfully implemented in the other boroughs and if so, let Queens also be a model for progressive yet responsibly run residential housing for those of us in need. Abe Fuchs Kew Garden Hills LEADING BY EXAMPLE Our religious leaders are the examples after which we should model our lives. They are beacons of hope, offering clarity and compassion in a chaotic world. So it is with great sadness that we will say goodbye to Pope Benedict XVI, who will resign as leader of the Catholic Church effective Thursday, February 28. His Holiness, elected to lead the Vatican in 2005, announced early on Monday, February 11 he no longer felt physically or mentally able to guide the church. Benedict XVI is the first Pontiff to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415 — when the Catholic Church faced an internal rift. Traditionally, a pope serves until his death, after which a new leader is elected by the College of Cardinals. We must respect the decision of Pope Benedict XVI, who, as he was ordained to do, is putting the needs of his flock first. His resignation is truly a selfless act, as he recognizes that the spiritual needs of the more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide might be best served by a man, who, as Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio said, has the “emotional, physical and spiritual qualities necessary to lead the church.” Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, is rumored to be a potential replacement for Pope Benedict. But whomever the College elects, when the white smoke appears, we know the next pope will follow the Christ-like example set by his predecessors, including Pope Benedict XVI. Another religious leader making headlines is Rabbi Robyn Fryer Bodzin, 38, of the Israel Center of Conservative Judaism in Fresh Meadows. According to reports, Bodzin was one of 10 women detained by Israeli police for praying at the Western Wall while wearing prayer shawls, or “tallit” traditionally worn by men. Three of the women detained were part of the group Women of the Wall, which gathers and prays together once a month. Of the detained, one woman was pregnant and one was only 17 years old. The women were not criminally charged, but their actions spoke volumes. They challenged doctrines, and, as Sam Weiss, executive vice president of the Israel Center of Conservative Judaism, told The Courier, spoke “for equality and tolerance.” After all, aren’t those two tents of all religions?
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