PUBLIC FORUM; PANAMA CANAL SECURITY.

The illegal handout of the Panama Canal threatens our national security.Regardless of White House pandering, China still names the United States its No. 1 enemy. In 1995 China threatened to use nuclear weapons on Los Angeles. Communist Chinese-controlled Hutchison-Whampoa is in charge of the ports at both ends of the canal. Panama has already given China an option on Howard Air Force Base and Rodman Naval Station.

Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon swore to defend our country. He must support and co-sponsor House Joint Resolution 77, which points out the dangers and irregularities in the 1997 Carter-Torrojos treaties and declares them null and void.

- John Webster

Lancaster

BUG IS ALIVE

Re ``Y2K's final hurdle today.'' (Daily News, Jan. 3):

Today (Jan. 3) is not the last day that companies will be experiencing Y2K bugs. We will be feeling them for years. As a 23-year veteran of the computer industry and a person who wrote many lines of COBOL code that contained the Y2K problem, I know this bug will continue to affect the world.

The primary Y2K issue being the two-digit year occurs ONLY when the dates are acted upon. It was erroneous to think that all dates would suddenly be calculated at midnight between the year 1999 and 2000. Calculations occur when software is run that acts upon these fields, such as whenever a transaction occurs. Furthermore, some items are acted upon only for daily balancing, monthly summarization, quarter end, and year-end processing. As a result, we will be feeling Y2K issues easily throughout the year 2000 and even into the year 2001.

Also, don't expect to hear about any Y2K problems unless they are extremely small in nature or leak out unintentionally.

- Mark Mathias

La Canada Flintridge

GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL

Re ``Let it glow, let it glow,'' (Opinions, Dec. 12):

While Robert L. Bradley Jr.'s article goes a long way toward assuaging Americans of any guilt they may feel by using energy irresponsibly, Bradley plays fast and loose with the facts. His estimates of hydrocarbon energy reserves are much more generous than most in these industries will publicly confess to. His statements concerning global warming, the reliability of satellite and balloon temperature readings and atmospheric water vapor call into question his qualifications as a scientist.

The polar ice caps and glaciers worldwide are melting at rates unprecedented in human history. This is fact, not fiction. A vast majority of the planet's scientists who are not beholden to fossil fuels for a paycheck accept global warming as a credible, serious risk which warrants immediate action. It's nice to keep thinking that we can do what we damn well please, without worrying about the consequences, but this is not reality.

- Thomas J. Shepherd

Canyon Country

WE HAD FUN

The ``failure'' of Los Angeles was inevitable. While L.A. isknown for entertainment, that entertainment has never extended itself to our festivities when ushering in a new year. We do not annually light up the Hollywood sign or hold concerts in our airports. Why would thousands of people come together in less that appealing weather to take part in an activity that held no prior meaning to them. I can only imagine that people were much more excited about sipping champagne at home and watching the same ball drop that they've been watching for decades than going out to do something entirely without sentimental value.

Perhaps you merely covered the wrong party. I spent my New Year's at the L.A. Sports Arena at an event called M2K and was exposed to the lights, crowds and festivities that you so strongly claim we were lacking. So please, before saying we don't know how to have fun, maybe you should check out the major events that happened citywide; you may find yourself rather surprised by what you have overlooked.

- Jessica E. Rutberg, 17

Tujunga

DISCONTENTED IN L.A.

``Now is the winter of our discontent.'' Shakespeare was right on and so were Jay Leno's comments about the worldwide embarrassment to Los Angeles city and county by Los Angeles Mayor Richard ``Hot Air Balloonist'' Riordan. He has to take the blame for his hype about not only showing up New York City, but showing the world that Los Angeles is the place to visit and bring your conventions, etc. and then knowingly misleading families he represents and the county he does not.

- Lloyd A. Fradkin

Canyon Country

MESSING UP TRASH

I have four garbage cans (I pay for one extra). Three of the cans have bad splits in the body and need replacement. One is so bad that I saw a coyote feeding through a hole. The damaged cans were crushed by the monsterclaws on the new garbage trucks. Of course the taxpayer is required to pay for new cans. All this could have been avoided if the City Council members had enough sense to retain the old front loader trucks. Recycling could have been easily accomplished by giving colored cans to the public that would separate out recyclable trash. The trash men could dump the cans in different trucks like they did for years.

Couple this with the high maintenance requirements on the monster garbage trucks, and significant cost savings would have accrued. This is too easy for the lamebrain council members to have thought of. Besides, why should they worry when the public picks up the bill. Once again the City Council tramples on the public.

- Sion Colvin

Woodland Hills

NEXT GRAND MARSHAL

My vote for the next grand marshal of the Rose Parade: Charles Schultz theme - ``You're a good man, Charlie Brown.''

What a lifetime of humor this man has given us and it would be a nice tribute to him and the Charlie Brown gang.

- Ray Tomlinson

Sunland

BECAUSE IT'S BEAUTIFUL

I was amused by Dale Himebaugh (Public Forum, Dec. 28) complaining about the Aqueduct Cascade lights just above the Golden State Freeway that are really beautiful to see at night. So far as I am concerned, if anything, whoever envisioned and approved that negligible expense should get a raise. That particular sight gives me a real emotional lift each time I drive by! Apparently some people have no regard for nebulous things that are beautiful just for their own sake.

As to his complaint about using consumer-taxpayer money for doing it, I am darn sure that the cost would be so little as to not even be worth considering, especially in these days of our government putting outthousands of dollars for $4 hammers, for example. Now that is worth complaining about.!

I still remember vividly us kids nagging my dad to drive us over from South Pasadena during the Depression just to go see the beautiful fountain at Riverside and Los Feliz. And why? Just because it is beautiful to see at night with all the colored lights and the water display.

I only wish that it was on all year. It says that life can be beautiful, even the little things.

- Graydon Wayne

Santa Clarita

IT'S A RERUN 

The brouhaha over the George W. Bush/Jesus Christ issue reminds me of a TV broadcast I watched in 1967 when three or four Swiss university students were interviewing Sen. Robert Kennedy and Gov. Ronald Reagan by satellite hookup.

Reagan was being his usual charming self, drifting out of context and telling stories about Jackie Robinson, when one of the Swiss students stated that he didn't want to hear irrelevant rhetoric!

Both of the politicians were then asked what man in history they both admired. I believe Kennedy gave a safe answer by naming Jefferson or one of his ilk. Reagan, not known for having read many books, stated ``the Prince of Peace.'' There was no embellishment.

Years later, Reagan demonstrated his reverence for the Prince of Peace by fomenting wars in Nicaragua and by arming both Iran and Iraq, and by rarely attending church services.

It is ironic that George W. Bush has stolen Reagan's campaign platform of lower taxes and increased Pentagon spending. God forbid (no pun intended) he is elected. We may see the same deficits that characterized both Reagan administrations.

- Stan Gordon

Encino

READ AND REMEMBER

The poverty level has been set and the rate of inflation does not affect all of us equally. However, the president claims that we are getting a fair raise in our Social Security checks. Not so for us older models!

The price of drugs is way up, so is hospitalization, and our HMO payments are rising daily. The price of gasoline is much higher here than so many locations across the United States. We allowed a pipeline to go through our community, to help keep gas prices down, and they are up. Milk went up; so did everything else. And guess what? We on Social Security will receive a meager raise in the coming year.

Wise up, wise ones, we have voting clout. Oust those elected officials who are against Social Security raises to allow us to live without imposing on either our families or society. Read and remember oldsters and do our battling with ballots. Young folks don't vote, we do.

- Ron Hall

Sun Valley

WINTER REASONING

Michael Campos is mistaken when he states the reason for winter (Public Forum, Dec. 22). The Earth is indeed closer to the sun when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It is colder in the Northern Hemisphere anyway because of two reasons: one, the tilt of the Earth causes the rays of the sun to come in at a slant, through more atmosphere, and cooler than the more direct rays of summer; and two, more time spent in the dark due to Earth's rotation keeping us cooler.

- Mary Ann Fell

Glendale

A MODEST PROPOSAL

Richard Nemec's article (Opinions, Jan. 2) was interesting and I agree, Los Angeles citizens seem to take water for granted. The DWP does have a long-term plan and is concerned with the future. L.A. may lose the rights, eventually, to draw water from the Colorado River, etc. Conserving water and using reclaimed water to water our parks and golf courses has helped, but is it enough? Reclaimed water should also be expanded to be used on lawns for commercial buildings, private homes and apartments.

My present proposal is to use only sea water to flush toilets. Granted this plan would be very expensive, but if the cost is stretched over many years, at least 30, it will be well worth it. First, it should begin with city parks and golf courses. Then, later, it should be expanded to city and county dwellings. The next step would be on commercial buildings, and much later in private homes and apartments.

While the sea water for toilets program is going on the city should also consider desalination. I had proposed the desalination plan in the Public Forum on June 28, 1990, and since then Catalina and Santa Barbara have a desalinizing plant available for emergencies during a drought. L.A. hasn't done anything in this area because ``it's too expensive.''

- Joseph F. Panicello

North Hills