Letters

Diarrheal diseases are the second leading killer of young children in developing countries. Our report on their treatment led readers to lament the lack of clean water, as well as the world’s overpopulation

The cover headline for your story on why diarrhea kills millions of children every year was meant to be the remedy for the condition: “A Fistful of Sugar + A Pinch of Salt + A Jug of Water” [Oct. 16]. The formula, however, was missing a crucial word: clean. The lack of clean water is the problem and the real cause of diarrhea in most cases. Anyone who has spent time in a refugee camp knows that it takes a lot of effort to purify waterand that you need the right tools to do so. Nevertheless, congratulations on picking this deadly issue for your cover story.
Demetrios G. Pyrros, M.D.
President-Elect (2009)
World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine
Athens

The simplicity of the solution depends on the quality of the water, and there Murphy’s Law prevails. In regions where water quality is questionable, young children should drink boiled water from properly cleaned containers.
Johannes H. Kop
Delft, the Netherlands

TIME reported that 5,000 young children in the developing world die each day from diarrhea. Gastroenteritis is due to unchecked population growth and overcrowding, to humans overtaxing their environment. The most stable environment is one in equilibrium. Growth leads to instability and breakdown. It is unfortunate that in this world everything is geared toward growth.
Chin Wei Pok, M.D.
Subang Jaya, Malaysia

Game Over?
Re “The End of a Revolution” [Oct. 16]: the Republican majority in Congress has bullied, lied, changed rules, twisted arms and done everything possible to retain power, without consideration for the minority Democrats or the U.S. as a whole. The G.O.P. has violated the principles it once stood forespecially fiscal conservatismand now stands only for clinging to power.
Barbara Stephens
McLean, Virginia, U.S.

I remember a few years ago, when President Bill Clinton was found guilty of “inappropriate behavior” and lying about it, we were told that character is not what matters, only how well a person does his or her job. I guess that’s only true if you’re a Democrat.
Veta Lasater
Independence, Missouri, U.S.

Although I’m hoping the midterm elections will spell the end of the corrupt Republican regime, I’m disheartened by the cause of the party’s downfall, distasteful as it is. The end will not have been brought about by stolen elections, an unprovoked and disastrous war breeding more terrorism, suspension of habeas corpus, state support of torture or a dangerous and ballooning federal deficit. It’s curious that Republicans might be toppled by the Foley fiasco. Seemingly, only a sex scandal can make voters take notice.
Judy Matysik
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

Let’s face it: there is no true leadership in the U.S., Republican or Democratic. Our elected officials operate at the basest level of power politics, ready to skewer one another whenever necessary. And they call themselves Christian to boot! Jesus would weep.
Elizabeth Hooper
Duluth, Georgia, U.S.

The values that I hold dear as an American have been destroyed by this Republican-dominated government. Freedom of speech disappeared when Americans who spoke out against Bush’s policies were labeled unpatriotic. The right to a fair trial exists only as long as we are not flown to Guantnamo Bay or a secret prison. I can no longer defend my country’s policies. I hope the world understands that the Republicans are not representative of all the American people.
Christine Buxton
Geneva

Equal Time
I had to laugh at TIME’s asking news Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch if Fox News had done anything that he thought was “unfair and unbalanced” [Oct. 16]. Your magazine is anything but fair and balanced. Your coverage of the Foley scandal seemed as if it had been written by the Democratic National Committee.
Diana Clary
Allen, Texas, U.S.

I chuckled at Murdoch’s claim that Fox News chief Roger Ailes “has been insistent on equal time for all sides.” This is the same Ailes who served as media strategist for three Republican Presidents and once produced Rush Limbaugh’s now extinct television show. This is the same fair-minded producer whose “journalists,” such as Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly, frequently tell their guests to shut up, and turn off the microphones when they hear viewpoints opposed to their own.
George Peterman
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.

Punjab Puritans
“No Dates, No Dancing” [Oct. 16] was about Punjab University in Lahore, Pakistan, where socializing between men and women is taboo. It is a prudish place, tightly controlled by a student group, Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (I.J.T.), whose goal is “training the young generation according to Islam so they can play a role in Pakistan’s social and political life.” But what about the country’s economic life? The vice chancellor of the universityas at most other Pakistani universitiesis a retired general lacking an academic background. There was a time when Arab Muslim countries led the way in advancing knowledge in literature, astronomy and mathematics. Islam was not considered inimical to such advancement. Sadly, Muslims have been in a deep slide since then.
Kangayam R. Rangaswamy
Waunakee, Wisconsin, U.S.

I was disgusted to learn that I.J.T. members have been known to physically assault students for drinking, flirting or kissing on campus. Any group that uses thuggery should be banned and the culprits penalized. A university campus should be a place that encourages free speech. If students want to wear the veil, then so be it, and if they do not, then they must be accommodated as well. But in my view, Pakistan is becoming more liberal, especially on college campuses. All my friends and family who live there paint a picture that is very different from the society I left barely six years ago. Music on campus is a huge part of the social scene in Karachi, dating is rampant, the arts and culture are vibrant, and Western influences and the free press are spreading. Most middle- and upper-class urban residents, although they may not support U.S. policies (who does?), are not fanatic in their beliefs and would never vote for conservatives.
Omar Haq
Piscataway, New Jersey, U.S.

Red Planet Close-Ups
Re “Mapping Mars” [Oct. 16]: with space travel being one of humankind’s finest achievements, I was quite distressed to see that the beautiful pictures taken by the Mars Opportunity rover and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter were buried inside the magazine. Those images should have made Time’s cover.
Doug Travis
Livonia, Michigan, U.S.

While it was intriguing to see the pictures from Mars, there’s still so much we don’t know about our own planet. Our lives may depend on learning more about Earth’s climate, its ecosystems and how pollutants affect its inhabitants. That research is much more important than exploring Mars.
Mark Sebby
Carpentersville, Illinois, U.S.

Lifestyles of the Rich
We were pleased to see our book, Searching for Mary Poppins: Women Write About the Intense Relationships Between Mothers and Nannies, mentioned in Po Bronson’s Essay “Barbie to Baby Einstein: Get Over It” [Oct. 9]. Bronson says our book, however, has a small place because “only 1 in 20 kids in the U.S. will ever be cared for by a nanny.” If this book ends up being important to almost 4 million boys and girls, what’s wrong with that? Plus you would have to add their parents to that number, as well as their nannies, to estimate how many Americans could relate to the book.
Susan Davis
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Gina Hyams
Housatonic, Massachusetts, U.S.

Bronson suggested that the only way to acknowledge the problems faced by children from affluent families is “with a sardonic wink.” In my book The Price of Privilege, I reported on disproportionately high rates of depression, anxiety and substance abuse among children of the wealthy. A broken child is a broken child, no matter what the parents’ financial resources.
Madeline Levine, Ph.D.
Kentfield, California, U.S.

Ruining Our Pun
Re “A Not-Quite-Immaculate Conception” [Oct. 16]: The headline for the report on actress Keisha Castle-Hughes’ pregnancy confused the Immaculate Conception of Mary with the virgin birth of Jesus. Roman Catholic dogma teaches that Mary was conceived without original sin and therefore didn’t need to be baptized.
Kenneth Sweigart
Paradise, Pennsylvania, U.S.

What Veils Reveal
Congratulations to columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown for arguing against the face veil worn by some Muslim women [Oct. 16]. The veil certainly represents the suppression of women. It is apparently worn because some Muslim men are so lacking in self-control that a mere glimpse of female flesh would drive them into a sexual frenzy. Since even animals do not behave that badly, I suggest that such men be put in cages in a zoo and the women be given their freedom and a little up-to-date education. After all, this is Britain in the 21st century, not the Arab world or the Middle Ages.
Judith Lawrence
Filey, England

I was disturbed by Alibhai-Brown’s column on her opposition to Muslim veils. Wearing the veil does not oppress women. It is only by coercionwhich is the mark of an authoritarian societythat it becomes a symbol of oppression. I would not be as disconcerted if Alibhai-Brown expressed her views only in private. But by denouncing the veil publicly, she does not do justice to the Islamic faith, which remains part of her identity.
Abdul Aziz
Singapore

More Than a Democratic Label
Re Andrew Marshall’s essay “Dictators’ Delight” [Oct. 9], on the Thai military coup: Democracy must not be a meaningless label. When Western leaders recommend that other nations implement democracy, they are endorsing a system of government that has checks and balances among the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. They surely do not envision the installation of a President who decides judicial matters without the presentation of evidence in a trial or a Prime Minister like Thaksin Shinawatra, who, as you noted, described the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi as “reasonable enough.” We in the West have to be clear about what kind of government a country such as Thailand may install. Will it be one that balances the powers of its different branches? Or will it be one that misuses the label of democracy and allows a dictatorial leader to do as he wishes to serve his interests?
Z Lima
Lisbon

Japanese Lessons
Your coverage of Asia’s endangered environment was very timely and relevant [Oct. 9]. Many regions of India are afflicted with contagious fevers like dengue. Hospitals are overflowing, and there is a shortage of proper medicines. It is very obvious that these diseases are the brood of environmental disaster in India. I see waste from factories dumped on the side of public roads. Authorities are corrupt and close their eyes to these illegal activities. There are no public toilets, people litter, and there is no proper management in the cities and villages to remove garbage. India is on the verge of environmental disaster. The recent outbreaks of contagious fevers are only harbingers of the catastrophes to follow. It is time for Indians to awaken like the Japanese and do something boldly and quickly.
Innasimuth Arulsamy
Coimbatore, India

Empty Bellies, Hard Hearts
“Turning Hunger into Hatred” [Oct. 16], on the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, failed to mention the reasons Israel feels so threatened. Hamas is a terrorist entity. The government of Gaza is led by Hamas, whose charter calls for the elimination of Israel. Since its withdrawal from Gaza, Israel has been the target of hundreds of rockets fired by Hamas. Maybe the Palestinians should consider a nonterrorist government to lead them to peace.
Bruce S. Cooper
Columbia, Maryland, U.S.

Huggable Dinosaurs?
Norwegian scientists last month announced the discovery of the first complete skeleton of a pliosaur, a vicious 10-m-long sea predator with teeth as big as cucumbers [Oct. 16]. Most dinosaurs, however, weren’t nearly so scary, as TIME reported in its Sept. 10, 1990, story on paleontologist Jack Horner:

“Horner has demonstrated that some dinosaurs were nurturing parents, raising their young in large nesting colonies and bringing their offspring berries and green vegetation, much as do birds. He has shown that the young in such species were neotenousor cute, as Horner puts it more plainly; until maturity they were gawky, with such vulnerable traits as enlarged heads, big eyes and shortened snouts, which theorists of animal behavior believe elicit the nurturing response in humans and other child-rearing species. In place of the familiar panoramas of flesh-ripping Godzillas, HORNER DESCRIBES THE MOST COMMON DINOSAURS AS ‘THE COWS OF THE MESOZOIC.’ He has found the remnants of one dinosaur herdan estimated 10,000 waddling, plant-eating duckbills. Even Tyrannosaurus rex seems less terrible in his revisionist view. Horner believes it followed herds of triceratops, scavenging carcasses and occasionally preying on weak individuals, much as hyenas follow wildebeests in Africa.” Read more at timearchive.com.