MAILBAG:

No one goes to the beach when it rains.

What a surprise.

The Fuji Grill should have been forewarned by the fact that almost $7,000 per month for rent was too much for businesses with years of beach experience (“Fuji Grill sales freeze during the offseason,” Feb. 7).

As an owner of a tourist business in Newport Beach (Island Style on Balboa Island), I know that in the winter visitors are sparse at best — even in the good times.

The city of Newport Beach’s price is unrealistic — but the Fuji Grill was naive at best.

CAROLYN CARR

Newport Beach

Tribune’s financial mess was avoidable

The current financial problems could have been avoided if we simply had continued with the old, long-standing, and well-proven requirement that a buyer must pay at least 20% down to buy anything, starting with buildings, and making it apply to the purchase of businesses as well.

The sale of the Tribune Co. to Sam Zell, who put up less than 4% down to get control of the company, should have never been allowed.

Also, there should be laws that would have prevented his use of the employee’s pension funds as collateral for the necessary bank loans to make the sale possible.

All of that simply has made the current problems a lot worse, and as well as being immoral, should be made illegal.

During the real estate boom when you could get mortgages for more than the property was ever worth, and people like Alan Greenspan were saying that we should be worrying that things were going too fast, there should clearly have been government intervention to require a good 20% down.

The economy will never recover until faith is restored that the powerful and corrupt cannot take control of important businesses for a mere 4% down, and until it is clear that the next recession won’t create another bursting bubble because people don’t have any real financial ownership in their homes.

The lenders used to require the 20% down for their own protection, but apparently they would rather try to ride the bubbles, so even if it must be done by government mandate, we need to reinstate and maintain the 20% solution!

JERRY PARKS

Newport Beach

Please, spare the pro-Israel propaganda

It is regrettable that you gave Rabbi Rubenstein a platform to spout his mixture of Zionist propaganda and drivel about war (“Hoping for some help toward Israel,” Feb. 10).

His propaganda is not subtle. Let’s apply the cleansing medium of truth to each one.

“Hamas ... is not a Palestinian nationalist organization ...” Hamas is the elected government of Gaza and much of the West Bank. It would be hard to get more nationalist than this.

“The war Israel fights in Gaza is not fought out of choice ...” Israel’s action in Gaza was not a war, but simply a vicious attack, and it had the choice of attacking or not attacking.

It chose to attack. Israel has maintained a medieval siege on Gaza for three years, withholding food, fuel, electricity, and medical care.

Israel had the choice at all times to stop this crime but it refused. The Gazans have applied pressure against Israel with the only means at their disposal: terrorism.

The Gazans have repeatedly offered to stop attacking if Israel would lift the siege, but Israel has chosen not to.

Israel’s “objective ... is ... peace.” This lie is especially egregious.

The Palestinian Arabs have made innumerable peace offers which in every case Israel has rejected. Israel fears peace, because if peace ever came it would mean the end of territorial expansion.

Turning from propaganda, Rabbi Rubenstein approvingly quotes Alexander Haig: “... we fought and died to prevent dictatorship and genocide ...”

How ironic! This principle is exactly what the Palestinian Arabs have been doing for nearly a century: fighting the dictatorship of Israel and its policy of genocide.

Finally, Rabbi Rubenstein hopes that Clinton “will fight for Israel.”

Let us fervently hope for the reverse. The U.S. has been fighting for Israel for decades, culminating in the war on Iraq to secure Israel. Let us hope that Obama will reverse this policy and stop fighting for Israel!

RICHARD HERMAN

Costa Mesa

Congressman should side with the facts

Representatives Dana Rohrabacher and John Campbell are either completely ignorant or purposely covering up for Israel’s aggression (“Congressmen support Israel’s strikes on Gaza,” Jan 8).

The fact is, as CNN reported, Israel violated the ceasefire on Nov. 4, 2008 by bombing a tunnel and killing six Palestinians.

More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more injured; how is it self defense if the victims are women, children and civilians?

Our representatives need to express opinions based on what is best for their constituents, not the pro-Israel lobby.

ZABA RASHAN

Irvine