Security and the fight against terrorism; a green development in Malibu; the law banning cellphone calls while driving.

Dollars and security

Re “Obama calls safety lapses unacceptable,” Dec. 30

For President Obama to admit Tuesday that valuable information regarding Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was not sufficiently distributed weeks before his alleged attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight makes me and many others wonder what good are the billions we spend on our aviation screening system.

The Department of Homeland Security has one job: to keep us safe. We can thank the heroic passengers and Abdulmutallab’s amateur jihadism for the safe landing of the jet -- not Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and her bureaucrats.

Perhaps the government should focus on this before thinking about healthcare. After all, what good is a doctor’s appointment if we can’t even get there safely?

Alex Markoff

Beverly Hills

The trouble with screening

Re “Screening for terrorists,” Editorial, Dec. 29

Improvements in technology and interagency management of information certainly could lead to much better flight security. But we still cannot employ the methods that have led to the world’s best record on security: Israel’s. Observation of demeanor, mannerisms, overall appearance and replies to individually tailored questions asked by professionally trained screeners have been the keys to that country’s remarkable success.

Well-intentioned objections over the perceived loss of the civil liberties of a few place in jeopardy the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of us all.

Gerald Landsman

Huntington Beach

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My name is William Robert Robinson. In November, I took a trip to Israel. At both Los Angeles and Tel Aviv, airline agents had me step aside until they could get a supervisor to approve issuing me a boarding pass. The LAX agent told me that I was on a DHS airport security list. I have been taking international trips for the last 25 years with no problems.

I am an 88-year-old balding WASP with glasses, hearing aids and a bunch of aches and pains. I am the last person you would think was a terrorist. I worked at Lockheed for 54 years and had top clearance that allowed me to go into all the secret shops, including the famous Skunk Works.

Somewhere, sometime, some William Robert Robinson did something to cause this name to be added to the list.

I Googled my name and got 3,520,000 hits. There are a lot of us out there. I think Napolitano should clean up her lists and the system for adding names. I nominate her for the 2009 “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job” award.

W.R. Robinson

Simi Valley

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Does it seem that terrorists are deliberately selecting suicide bombers who are not on the watch lists?

It’s naive to assume that terrorists have not hacked the lists; even more naive to assume they ignore them. To rely on widely distributed computer-generated lists for security sounds good and gives the public something to argue about, but obviously it is not effective.

High-tech screening, long security lines and inconveniences may be the only way to go.

Jean Bannigan

Burbank

Re “Saboteurs of the no-fly system,” Opinion, Dec. 29

Hurrah for Gabriel Schoenfeld’s Op-Ed article on political correctness and security. He hit the nail on the head.

I would much rather have screening and other politically incorrect procedures in place to prevent mass murder. After all, how many terrorism incidents have been caused by older, gray-haired grandmothers from Kansas, as opposed to young Muslim men?

Oh my goodness, I’m about to be attacked by the ACLU.

Mark E. Buchman

Los Angeles

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Schoenfeld’s opinion that civil libertarians are to blame for the incident on the Northwest flight to Detroit from Europe hearkens back to the right’s litany that any defense of people’s constitutional rights gives aid and comfort to the enemy.

Schoenfeld’s complaints about the security system and no-fly rules are blithely ignorant of the deeper causes of terrorism, such as our heavy-handedness with the Islamic world.

He would rather put a finger into a dike than come up with a comprehensive policy to deal with the terrorist states.

Gary Blinn

Montclair

Muslim voices of reason

Re “ ‘Never found a true Muslim friend,’ ” Dec. 29

Now that the likely Internet posts of the alleged airline bomber have come to light, I see an opening for moderate Muslim groups.

This man was apparently searching for ways to deal with the conflict between his emotions and the teachings of his faith. The groups that seemed to have responded to him led him to extreme action.

Is there a website where he might have encountered less extreme answers that were still in keeping with his faith? We need to reach these troubled souls before they are reached by those who want to use them against us -- not after.

Marika Gerrard

Marina del Rey

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It is indeed a lucky break that the attempted terrorist attack was foiled.

Although there is a lot of debate as to what the government could or should have done, one key question remains: Why would a young man who is highly educated and has had the best in life want to commit suicide this way, and in the process destroy the lives of many other innocent people?

The bastardization of Islam’s message continues unabated by fanatics. Even if only 1% of the world’s Muslims succumb to these radical movements, that is almost 16 million people.

We are in for a very long and difficult battle against these radicals, who have no regard for life at all.

Syed Afroze Hussaini

Anaheim Hills

Thinking outside the box

Re “U.S. strains to ensure air safety,” Dec. 29

With the defeat of a “public option” pretty much guaranteed, perhaps there’s a way to combine air safety and expand healthcare simultaneously.

Full-body scans at the airport? Excellent idea. Perhaps for an extra $15, Northwest Airlines can print out the image and search for unusual growths or tumors.

And depending on where the next terrorist decides to hide his explosives, perhaps we can back into free colonoscopies, so to speak.

Marley Sims

Valley Village

Toward a green Malibu

Re “Edge doesn’t need 5 castles,” Column, Dec. 23

I am pleased that Steve Lopez recognizes that the homes proposed for Sweetwater Mesa are “eco-friendly.” These homes will be models for green building that complement the environment; minimize impacts on neighbors; integrate native, water-wise plants; and blend designs with the landscape in an organic, natural way. Lopez acknowledges that “there’s no doubt . . . the houses would blend into the landscape more neatly than most of what’s been built in Malibu over the years.”

There are two points I would like to make in response to Lopez’s criticism of our project. First, these five lots are all legally buildable. If the Edge and his partners walked away, these lots could be sold separately to individuals or developers, missing the opportunity for our sustainable approach.

Second, the picture Lopez paints in his column, and the photo The Times ran to accompany it, do not show all the traditional developments that already exist in Sweetwater Mesa and on the hills above. Almost none of this surrounding development meets the environmental standards we are proposing to minimize impacts to coastal resources and to protect public views.

Jim VandenBerg

Santa Monica

The writer is the project’s manager.

Speaking of cellphones

Re “ ’Bye, I’ve got to drive now,” Column, Dec. 29

If it is true that cellphone use is down “significantly” since the cellphone law came into effect, then that significance is insignificant, because I observe just as many motorists using hand-held cellphones as I did before the law was passed.

The many articles written concerning cellphone use while driving are redundant, ineffective and frankly quite irritating. The law is mildly enforced and the fine is laughable; consequently, the majority of people who violate the cellphone law continue to do so with blatant temerity.

The law should be vigorously enforced and the fine should be dramatically increased. This would almost certainly put an end to the abuse and perhaps stop the many ineffectual articles written concerning this ongoing dilemma.

Giuseppe Mirelli

Los Angeles