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The reality of Iran's nuclear intent

The level of ignorance displayed by the authors of "Why we talk about Iran's intent, not Israel's reality" (May 31 Sunday Journal) is astounding.

First, Iran has stated on multiple occasions its intent to wipe the "Zionist Entity" off the map and has developed ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Israel and beyond. What do the authors think Iran would do with a nuclear weapon if they developed one? And why do the authors think that Iran has enriched uranium to 60%, way beyond the level required for civilian use?

As the authors well know, it's but a short step from 60% to weapons-grade 90%. Finally, their accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza is just plain silly.

John W. Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute, U.S. Military Academy, has stated that Israel has set new standards for the protection of civilians in urban warfare. Israel is no more committing genocide than we did in the firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945 that killed 100,000 civilians in three hours, or the bombing of civilian population centers in Germany. In view of the authors' claimed professional backgrounds, their ignorance and outright bias is scary.

Joel Widman

Rio Rancho

The crucial distinctions between warfare and genocide 

In response to the column in the May 31 Sunday Journal, 鈥淲hy we talk about Iran鈥檚 intent, not Israel鈥檚 reality:鈥� The two authors, William Kass and Paul Stokes, may be educated scientists, but they are not well-educated in the term 鈥済enocide."

According to the following definitions: 鈥淕enocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.鈥� (Google dictionary) and 鈥淎cts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.鈥� (United Nations definition of genocide).

Israel may be guilty of war crimes, perhaps, but not, by any definition, genocide. If anything, Hamas is guilty of attempted genocide against the Jewish people.

Please get your facts straight, and stop the antisemitic slanders. Israel most often makes every effort to avoid civilian casualties; note that I did not say always. On the other hand, Hamas tries often to create civilian casualties, both Israeli and Arab.

This is far from the main point of the article published, but it needs to be recognized. Israel has had a nuclear arsenal since the 1960s. I saw the reactor personally in 1964. They have never threatened to use nuclear weapons, except in response and defense. Iran has continually threatened to create and use nuclear weapons. Let鈥檚 talk about intent, both in terms of nuclear weaponry and crimes against civilians.

Mike Sackett

Las Cruces

The quiet erasure of Black America

While many Americans are distracted by daily chaos, the Trump administration is systematically erasing Black American history and achievements from the national record. This is not hyperbole. These are documented facts.

The administration has ordered the removal of plaques and historical markers at national parks commemorating Black American history. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History has been targeted by executive order accusing it of "divisive race centered ideology," and purging historical records documenting discrimination against Black Americans. They are not revising history. They are attempting to delete it.

Gen. Charles Brown Jr., the Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired. Diversity, equity and inclusion was cited as justification. A decorated four-star general dismissed because of the color of his skin, dressed up as policy. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth went further, striking several Black officers from military promotion lists. The men and women defending this nation denied advancement because of race. It is discrimination wearing a uniform.

The Supreme Court has eviscerated the Voting Rights Act, and Southern states immediately redrew electoral maps to eliminate Black voting districts. The architects of Jim Crow are smiling.

In Tennessee, school districts have banned Alex Haley's "Roots" from libraries and classrooms. The state legislature has removed every Democrat and every Black representative from every single committee. Every single one. An American state legislature. In 2026.

This is not happening in 1955. It is happening right now in the United States of America.

History does not always announce itself dramatically. Sometimes it arrives quietly 鈥� one removed plaque, one fired general, one banned book, one redrawn district, one emptied committee seat. By the time the pattern is undeniable, the damage is done.

Those who forget history 鈥� or are forbidden from learning it 鈥� are condemned to repeat it.

Michael Zagone

Rio Rancho

Meta is collecting billions from counterfeiters

I own Wicked Edge Precision Sharpeners, a knife-sharpening equipment company in Santa Fe. Every day, hundreds of fraudulent ads run on Facebook and Instagram that steal our content, use our name and sell counterfeits to consumers who think they're buying from us. Each ad takes 15 minutes to report. Meta takes weeks to respond 鈥� if it responds at all.

This is not incompetence. Internal Meta documents, surfaced through a Reuters investigation and confirmed in active litigation, show that Meta's systems flag fraudulent ads and then charge their operators a premium to keep running them. Meta calls this revenue stream "violating revenue." It totals an estimated $7 billion per year.

Santa Clara County, California, filed suit against Meta last month on exactly these grounds. New Mexico has equally strong legal tools available under the Unfair Practices Act, and Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez is already actively litigating against Meta on a separate matter 鈥� meaning the institutional knowledge is already there.

I have formally requested that Torrez open an investigation and that our legislative leadership consider platform accountability legislation. Every New Mexico business that sells branded products online faces this exposure. Meta will not change voluntarily. Legal and legislative pressure is the only lever that works 鈥� and New Mexico has the tools to apply it.

Clay Allison

Santa Fe

Winston Brooks records fight was a waste of  taxpayer money

Let's see if I've got this right. First, we had to pay the carpetbagger Winston Brooks, the former sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public School superintendent, $350,000 to go away. Now, we've got to pay the Journal and KOB-TV more than $600,000 in damages and legal fees for the dubious pleasure of learning what APS attorney Agnes Padilla thought about all that.

Looks like the only ones making out here are the Journal, KOB and their attorneys. Once again, Juan Q. Public gets the short end of the stick.

First of all, while we were mildly curious about what had happened, we were not surprised. We've been enriching carpetbaggers in this state for over 200 years. Second, had we known it was going to cost us a million dollars we would not have bought this pig in a poke. Since you guys all feel so zealous about protecting the public's so-called right to know, maybe you should think about donating your gains to the general fund.

Edward Lopez

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