Risking It

To the Editors:

Your article "Striking It Rich" [Feb. 15] is the best recommendation for President Reagan's economic program. America is still the land of opportunity because our Government fosters such innovative entrepreneurs.

OrlandH. Ellis

Birmingham, Mich.

The story on Steven Jobs is a rebuke to the "good ole boys" who categorize all youth with long hair and cut-offs as "dang hippies" who are no good to society.

Bill Panek

Crawford, Colo.

Steven Jobs of Apple Computer began his rise to fame and fortune by inventing a device to bilk the phone companies on long-distance calls. He should be classed with the "sleazy operators," not the "risk takers."

John J. Viall

Cincinnati

Considering that "only one in ten investments in a new company may ever return a profit," your optimism about new business ventures is deceiving. Little mention is made of the 90% that put a strain on the credit institutions and, therefore, on the economy of the country.

William B. Sawyer

Braintree, Mass.

Bulging Budget

We cannot allow deficits to increase continually, thus driving up interest rates [Feb. 15]. We cannot permit the Defense Department to gobble up money and human expertise that should be directed toward a productive economy. If Congress doesn't stop this madness, there will be little worthwhile for the Defense Department to defend.

Edmund Lloyd

Middletown, N. Y.

Unemployment is not America's No. 1 economic worry. A budget deficit projected at $91.5 billion, or nearly one-seventh the total 1982 budget, has a greater potential for destroying the American political system.

Arlyn Miller

Partridge, Kans.

The voters in 1980 mandated that waste and inefficiency be eliminated from the myriad of social programs. The presidential response to drop or cripple these programs is simplistic and tragic.

Ralph L. Kleinman

Whittier, Calif.

A strong economy, with no deficits, is a more powerful weapon against the Soviet Union than those added defense dollars.

Bud Genovese

Santa Cruz, Calif.

Distorted Status

It is unfortunate and regrettable that in a special advertising section in the Jan. 4 edition of TIME, a map of the eastern Mediterranean portrayed Cyprus as a dismembered country in orange and green, the very same colors used to identify Greece and Turkey. In view of the circumstances, the impression conveyed to the average reader by the advertisement is that the Republic of Cyprus does not have the status of an independent state but is divided between, and is part of each of its two neighbors. This is incompatible with the actual and universally accepted legal situation.

While it is a fact that since 1974 a part of the territory of Cyprus has been under the occupation of Turkish troops, this illegal occupation in no way derogates from the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, which are universally recognized. I am of course aware that this cartographic misrepresentation appears in an advertisement paid for by "Turkish construction companies," but more discretion should have been exercised by TIME to avoid injurious effects upon a sovereign state.

Andrew J. Jacovides

Ambassador

Republic of Cyprus

Washington, D.C.

El Salvador's Anguish

Americans are dismayed to see our Government back the wrong party in El Salvador [Feb. 15]. Sadly, the Reagan Administration has not learned a lesson from our experiences in Viet Nam and Iran. As long as we support repressive regimes in the Third World, the people of these nations will hate us.

The U.S. is now pinning its hopes on the coming election, but to consider the voting in El Salvador as free is a terrible joke. The people will not be heard, only guns will be audible. If the leftists win, so be it. America is going to have to get used to dealing with Communist governments around the world.

Charles Wyman Longman t, Colo.

Assistant Secretary of State Thomas O. Enders asks, "If El Salvador is captured by a violent minority, who in Central America would not live in fear?" His question ignores the fact that El Salvador's ruling junta is a violent minority. Never legally elected, the Duarte government is only the latest episode in a long history of repressive regimes that have terrorized and brutalized the population.

Manolo Gonzalez

Union City, N.J.

American taxpayers have a lot of innocent Salvadoran blood on their hands, in the name of protecting freedom and our interests.

John Mobyed

Southold, N. Y.

The U.S. hardly has a chance to establish humanitarian ideals in El Salvador through political, economic and military reform. Once again our Government is headed toward a direct confrontation with the Soviet Union, which is inspiring the guerrillas. This Central American crisis not only tears at its victims, but also foreshadows a threat to the free world.

Michele Mercadante

Madison, N.J.

Dead Rock

Your article "Rock Hits the Hard Place" [Feb. 15] is saying exactly what the 1960s "older generation" bemoaned: they don't make music like they used to.

Michele De Vita

New York City

As an explanation for the languishing rock culture, Jerry Wexler suggests that teens are "too cool" to look for their own identity in rock 'n' roll. On the contrary, today's teens are not too cool; it does not make sense to rebel against your parents via rock 'n' roll when they probably know more about the music than you do.

Robert Cramer

San Bernardino, Calif.

You have sounded the death knell too soon. There is a world of rock bands that do matter. On dozens of independent labels and on college radio stations, important fresh sounds, mostly from England, Ireland and Scotland, can be heard.

Erik Golub

Sunnyvale, Calif.

The '60s music united a culture centered on drug use and rebellion against the Establishment. Today's rock generation thrives without the need to gather in groups half a million strong and consume blotter acid. Contemporary teen-agers take the music as music, not as a medium for social commentary.

Mark R. McGrath

Rochester

Your article recalled for me an argument I had several years ago with my then stodgy father. He bet his 15-year-old daughter that rock wouldn't survive another 25 years. I hope he doesn't read your story. He may decide to collect.

Ellen Lebowicz Brooklyn

Suing C.U.

Your report on the outcome of a court case filed by the Bose Corp. against Consumers Union [Feb. 1] may have given your readers a misleading impression of the ruling. Of the three counts alleged by Bose in connection with an article published twelve years ago evaluating that firm's Model 901 loudspeaker, the court dismissed two of the three counts completely as well as four of the five allegations in the third.

This case should be viewed in perspective. It was the first time a product disparagement case has been decided against us. We are confident that the narrow ruling against C.U. and the award of damages will be reversed on appeal.

Rhoda H. Karpatkin, Executive Director

Consumers Union

Mount Vernon, N. Y.

Gloom or Graffiti

Roger Rosenblatt is right when he says graffiti invade our privacy, but that is the least of it [Feb. 15]. A straphanger's logic tells him that if a ten-year-old can get away with writing on a subway train, an eleven-year-old can kick out windows, a twelve-year-old can snatch purses, and a 13-year-old can commit murder and get away with it.

Jim Writer

Brooklyn

When your Essay listed rights in regard to New York City's underground Louvre, you forgot one important item: the right to read the subway maps and see where we are.

Danielle Ofri

Spring Valley, N. Y.

Graffiti on toilet walls and subways do not infringe on our "right to dullness"; they are pleasant distractions that amuse us when we are forced to stop during the day's mad rush.

S. Irfan Ahmad

Brookline, Mass.

People pick the medium of expression that is most accessible and best suited to their purpose. Gray walls are not honest, if they hide the discontent, anguish and unrest of human beings. Since we have no way of determining and enforcing what is acceptable, we must allow each individual to express himself as he wishes.

Lynn M. Vial

Kalamazoo, Mich.

Don't forget your subways are covered by another wonderful art, advertising.

David Israeli Los Angeles

Upscale, Downscale

At the risk of ruining a clever phrase, I object to your report that Daily News Columnist Dick Young has moved to the "downtown, downscale" New York Post [Feb. 15]. A check of any recent syndicated research study of New York newspapers would have shown that Post readers are considerably more upscale than those who peruse the News.

William F. Niles

Corporate Research Director

News America Publishing Inc.

New York City

Aloft with Ariane

The European space effort [Feb. 8] illustrates that Europeans cooperate very well when it comes to really important matters, even though they may squabble about European Community farm policy. Considering our Continent's past rivalries and wars, this is a major achievement. The Ariane project is another step toward Western Europe's integration.

Erik Mathys

Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium

While the Europeans, Soviets and Japanese prepare for their space future, the U.S. program faces reductions that could damage it irrevocably. Perhaps this nation's goals are better served by an increase in NASA funding rather than a cut.

Stan Shull

Troy, N. Y.

Open Parks

A small error in your story "Hard Times in the Heartland" [Dec. 7] is causing Michigan major problems. You stated: "Next summer all but the most popular state parks will have to close for lack of funds." Despite severe cutbacks in the parks management staff, none of the 87 state parks and recreation areas have been closed, nor will they be. Since your article, we've been trying to explain this fact to would-be tourists from Canada to Mexico.

Howard A. Tanner, Director

Department of Natural Resources

State of Michigan

Lansing, Mich.

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