Man of the Year?

To the Editors:

The Ayatullah Khomeini, with his campaign of terror and death, may have captured Iran; however, John Paul II, with his mission of peace and compassion, has captured the world.

George S. Wilson

Fort Wayne, Ind.

For TIME's Man of the Year, I suggest a dual cover featuring Pope John Paul II and Ayatullah Khomeini. They have dramatically represented the forces for good and evil in the world.

Richard Virden

Washington, D.C.

What will you do? What will you do? As things stand now, how can you avoid naming the Ayatullah Khomeini Man of the Year?

Jonathan Greenwald

Westport, Conn.

You're not going to like this, but Pol Pot should be Man of the Year. There are many indications that it has been that kind of year. I won't itemize; it would only depress us all.

William H. Davis

Seattle

Why not choose a Woman of the Year instead? Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is my proposal.

Ilmar Lill

Malmo, Sweden

I nominate Jane Fonda for Woman of the Year. Her cinematic tours de force Coming Home and The China Syndrome have firmly established her as America's premier social critic, political activist and actress.

Jon Nagy

Eastsound, Wash.

For People of the Year, I would like to see nominated the Vietnamese boat people, the untouchables of the South China Sea--ignored by the ships, shoved away by the local authorities, forgotten by the world.

Nguyen-Thanh-Phuoc

Houston

Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. He took away not only the punch bowl but also the hors d'oeuvres.

Jim Sheehan

Pierson, Iowa

Iran's Terrorism and Blackmail

I have criticized many U.S. policies throughout the world, including Puerto Rico, but I'm against terrorism. Morally, I'm backing the U.S. 100% against the terrorist assault on the embassy's personnel in Iran and the blackmail of the U.S. [Nov. 26]. Nationalism is a good principle if expressed in a positive way.

Jose L. Conception

Fajardo, P.R.

My sympathy goes to the hostages and to the Iranians who will suffer from prejudice here. But the Iranians I pity the most are the ones who will realize too late that there is nothing they can do to get that tyrant Khomeini out of power.

Betina Pavri

Rockwood, Pa.

This is not like Viet Nam. Just let one American shed one drop of blood and I will be the first one to invade Iran with rifle in hand!

Michael Murphy

Stratford, N.J.

The political booby prize of 1979 should be shared by President Carter and Secretary Vance for giving a visa to the Shah of Iran, in spite of being warned by both the Iranians and some experts in the State Department that such action would greatly upset the present rulers of Iran. The U.S. cannot afford to have a President with such poor judgment.

Lars C. Bratt

Palo Alto, Calif.

Enough already about the so-called excesses of the Shah. Whatever he did pales in comparison with the barbarisms of Khomeini.

Daniel M. Kohler

Alexandria, Va.

Despite attempts by other countries to rile our citizenry, Americans must make every effort to remain the beacon of liberty and justice in this repression-darkened world. Let us not sink to Iran's level by persecuting all Iranians in the U.S.

Thomas P. Dolan

Oneida, N. Y.

The lives of the hostages are important and they should be rescued if possible. But their sacrifice may be, as it often has been, the price of empire. The primary consideration is to visit upon Iran such a condign punishment that neither that country nor the rest of the world will forget the lesson in ten generations.

Peter H. Peel

Reseda, Calif.

The one good thing about the Iranian crisis is this: when Khomeini gets kicked out, the U.S. won't be blamed for putting him in power.

Rob Bates

East Brunswick, N.J.

The way the Islamic world is accusing the U.S. of all the crimes and misdeeds of the world, it will not be long before it starts blaming the Americans for placing Khomeini in power in order to disintegrate Islam.

Sudhangshu B. Karmakar

Flushing, N. Y.

Good old Uncle Sam! It's a relief to see this gentle giant flexing his muscles once in a while. By telling Iran to take its oil and shove it, Carter gained the respect and admiration of many Europeans, both for himself and his country.

George Symm

Cramlington, England

I am impressed with all the demonstrators in Iran. Doesn't anybody work there or go to school?

Irene A. Bovie

Barrington, R.I.

Economizing on Heartbeats

If ex-Astronaut Neil Armstrong really believed in his "theory" that each person has a finite number of heartbeats [Nov. 26], he would be out there exercising with the rest of us.

Since I took up jogging three years ago, my resting heart rate has fallen from 72 beats per minute to an average of 55. Even taking into account the rates while running and during recovery time, I calculate that my heart now beats an average of 150,960 fewer times per week as a result of my running.

R. Griffith McDonald

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Passion for Don Giovanni

It seems that Reviewer Christopher Porterfield went to the film Don Giovanni [Nov. 26] with a preconceived notion of how it should be played--with an emphasis on the lighter side. This is, of course, a perfectly valid interpretation. However, Joseph Losey chose to look at the dark side of Don Giovanni. You must remember that this work, with its terribly ambiguous juxtaposition of good and evil, is open to as many interpretations as there are productions.

When I read that Ruggero Raimondi's Don Giovanni was passionless, I, as one of many whose bones turned to water watching his performance, knew the reviewer had to be a man.

Christiane Young

Paris

Would Shakespeare have approved of Olivier's Hamlet! Would Mozart have liked Joseph Losey's film version of Don Giovanni? Who knows? Who cares?

Our thoughts and feelings are no longer those of the late 18th century or even the mid-20th. Like or dislike aside, Mozart's genius would have respected Losey for casting a new light, for revealing possibilities not seen before and for giving fresh, internally consistent insights. It is the Loseys of this world who affirm the greatness of great works and assure their survival through the centuries.

Robert and Anne Scholten

State College, Pa.

Chippewa Fishing

If the state of Michigan objects to the Indians' use of gill nets, as you say in "The Chippewas Want Their Rights" [Nov. 26], rather than trap nets, which do not harm the fish, let it buy each fishing Indian a trap net. The state could afford the trap nets much better than the loss of its game fish.

Arlyn Miller

Partridge, Kans.

Tecumseh's Prediction

Re the prediction of future activity along "Middle America's Fault" [Nov. 19]: seismologists might take a lesson from the great Shawnee chief Tecumseh. He not only predicted the first New Madrid, Mo., earthquake (Dec. 11, 1812) several months in advance of the actual quake, but also used this prophecy as a sign to confederate the Indians against the Americans in the War of 1812.

Richard M. Helwig

Defiance, Ohio

A Low Blow at Pierce?

I must protest Hugh Sidey's shabby treatment of the unfortunate Franklin Pierce [Nov. 19]. His presidency was admittedly undistinguished, but the attack on his Inaugural ceremonies was a low blow. Two months before his Inauguration, President-elect Pierce and his wife were in a train wreck in which their eleven-year-old son, their only surviving child, was killed before their eyes.

These circumstances, omitted from Mr. Sidey's column, put into perspective the $322 Inaugural ceremony that his wife did not attend and the cancellation of the Inaugural Ball.

Lynette R. Overbey

Cincinnati

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