Why are those men frowning?
On the front page of the (Nov. 28) paper you obviously tried to depict the two leaders of Israel and Palestine as angry old men. (View image) In my long period of reading a newspaper each morning I have never seen anything so discouraging. The world, led by President Bush, is trying very hard to come up with a plan to settle the issues between the two nations that could bring peace between them. Of equal importance, to bring hope to the middle east for reconciliation with the West.
Do these pictures reflect the Bee's opinion of the efforts of the United States in this matter? How many pictures of these two leaders did you review before you came with these choices? Whatever your motives, the results reminded me not to get my hopes up for any optimistic reporting of world events from your paper.
Dick Myers
The photos of the two leaders - Israel's Ehud Olmert and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas - were selected to reflect the seriousness of the issue. In my judgment, the expressions conveyed a mixture of determination and a sober assessment of the hard work ahead. The story made clear that this was a first step in restarting a process that has been difficult and filled with obstacles. A celebratory photo seemed inappropriate given the gravity of the undertaking and the hard work ahead.