Letters to the Editor for Friday, October 10, 2008
European and Mideast editions
(EDITOR’S NOTE: These are the letters that appeared in each edition of Stripes on this publication date. Click here to jump ahead to the Pacific edition letters)
Story just a tease for readers
I’ve read your publications for years and know that many of our armed forces people rely on it for information about things happening back home while deployed or stationed overseas. Knowing that your primary readership is outside the continental U.S., I find it disturbing that you would run a Wall Street Journal story in the Oct. 8 European edition titled "The online television bonanza is here," with a teaser on the front page directing people to the story.
While the information is very enlightening about the ability to watch stateside broadcasts from the Internet and save money, those opportunities are extremely limited overseas due to broadcast laws and studio licensing. In fact, most of the free content — and, sometimes, paid content — is barred if you have an overseas Internet service provider and it is recognized as such.
I would hate to think of American servicemembers expending their tight resources for this great opportunity only to find out once they get set up that they are prohibited from doing so. Things like Netflix’s Watch Instantly service, Amazon downloads, and all stateside TV broadcast outlets prohibit people overseas from downloading or streaming the content.
Shame on you, Stars and Stripes, for not doing your homework on the pros and cons of this capability before running this story, especially with regard to American servicemembers who count on you to provide accurate and timely information.
Capt. Tony M. Wickman
Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Look at anti-malarial drug
Regarding "Downrange HAZARD? Doctors see resurgence of rare type of pneumonia among some deployed troops who smoke" (article, Oct. 2): New-onset smoking as the cause of acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) has never been a fully satisfying explanation for this unusual and rare outcome. AEP is rare in the United States among new smokers, suggesting that some other exposure found throughout U.S. Central Command territory may also be to blame.
Interestingly, the anti-malarial drug mefloquine (Lariam) has been widely used throughout CENTCOM during the time period that these cases have been reported. In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an advisory cautioning that Lariam had been associated with at least 13 reports of AEP or pneumonitis. The FDA further cautioned that serious cases of pulmonary toxicity have occurred when Lariam was used prophylactically. Of note, Lariam was widely prescribed to U.S. servicemembers throughout Iraq and Afghanistan at the time of the initial AEP cluster in 2003.
The resurgence of acute severe pneumonia appears to be correlated with the re-emergence of Lariam as the predominant anti-malarial drug in CENTCOM, beginning in 2006.
With this obvious association in timing, further epidemiological investigation is clearly needed. Unfortunately, the data system most commonly used by military epidemiologists (the Defense Medical Surveillance System) is still unable to link drug usage to health outcomes.
The Department of Defense should recommit to fixing this system, so that the safety of Lariam and other drugs may be more properly monitored. In the meantime, DOD health leaders may wish to consider collaborating with the FDA to ensure an open and transparent investigation into this possible association.
Dr. (Maj.) Remington Nevin
Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center
Silver Spring, Md.
Pacific edition
Starved for more drag racing
On Sept. 29 American Forces Network aired the National Hot Rod Association O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals on AFN-Xtra. The program has a scheduled start of 0100 CET but, for whatever reason, it did not start until 0130. It was nice to see some drag racing on TV; however it would be even better to see it at a decent hour.
Many times those in the stick-and-ball crowd get the chance to see replays of their games. Why can’t drag racing fans get the same opportunity?
Football fans have the chance to see multiple games every week during the season between college and pro ball. The NHRA has 24 major races throughout the year, so why can’t we see them at a decent time?
The entire NHRA broadcast was scheduled to last three hours, shorter than many football games. When I look at the AFN programming schedule posted on MyAFN.net, I see that the Philadelphia Eagles-Chicago Bears game was shown not once, not twice, but three times on Sept. 29. The Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers game was also aired three times on Sept. 30, according to the posted schedule. Maybe next time we can get six hours of NHRA coverage with 50 percent of it coming at a decent time of the evening (1800 perhaps) and 20 percent of football the next time there is a race weekend?
By the same token, could Stars and Stripes put something in the paper as well? You cover football, baseball, golf and NASCAR. Maybe you could do me and my fellow NHRA fans a favor and print a couple of lines in the paper?
Staff Sgt. David Copeland
Vilseck, Germany
