LETTERS

THE BEST OF 1996

"I did not recognize a single artist or group in your selection of the best music. Perhaps it's time to change the setting on my car radio." BARBARA PRICE Dayton, Ohio

I was not at all surprised that hardly any Hollywood blockbusters made it to your list of top films [THE BEST OF 1996, Dec. 23]. The movies chosen were poignant, inspirational, wonderfully made films that were not the usual mediocrity Hollywood so often produces. Instead, they were emotionally gripping, and were obviously made by directors and producers who are not driven by money but by quality. The people behind these movies are not afraid to take risks and show the world what being human can be all about. CATHERINE J. WILLOUGHBY Guelph, Canada

In "The Best Books of 1996" the Moor's Last Sigh was mentioned as Salman Rushdie's first novel since The Satanic Verses. However, he wrote a novel, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (winner of a Writers' Guild award), in 1990 while in hiding after the fatwa. During this period he also published Imaginary Homelands, a collection of essays and criticism, and his first (and so far only) collection of stories, East, West. IRFAN AHMAD KHAN Karachi, Pakistan

I was deeply disturbed by your film criticism. There was a time when your reviews and Top 10 lists, no matter how long-winded or pretentious, were at least honest. After the publication of your farcical list of movie picks, you cannot lay claim to this honor any longer. Going global may work fine for news coverage, but it is certainly not a proper creed for reviewing movies. NABEEL QURESHI Karachi, Pakistan

Your idea of the best music includes a bunch of hinterland artists with minimal, perhaps questionable, talent. I pity the poor individual who takes your word and purchases some of this audio doo-doo. Here's a partial list that your readers may embrace without worrying that you might be trying to push someone to the forefront out of some sort of pathetic attempt to exclude artists who have a gift of musicianship: Shawn Colvin, A Few Small Repairs; Sting, Mercury Falling; Keb 'Mo', Just Like You; Beatles, Anthology III; Paula Cole, This Fire; Lyle Lovett, The Road to Ensenada; and Chris Isaak, Baja Sessions. CARL WIDING, Program Director KINK-FM Portland, Oregon

I find it troubling that you honored the Red Kamel cigarette package for its design. No matter how pretty the package, its contents kill more than 400,000 people a year. DAVE BAUER Winter Park, Florida

Your selection of "The Best Websites of 1996" surprised me. Almost all were from the commercial domain; private and personal Websites were virtually ignored. There are some first-class personal sites. Want to receive help for your palmtop computer that does not interest its maker anymore? Go to private sites. Want action to resist some foolish political decisions? Want information about some real writers and artists? Support for a major illness? The list goes on and on. The backbone of the Net is still the private individuals connected to it. ETIENNE BORGERS Singapore

I find it rather ironic that TIME chose Netscape's "What's Cool" as the worst Website. You said it is "uncool" for "the software company that virtually controls the Web through its popular browser" to tell us what's hip. Perhaps TIME should look in the mirror? BRUCE DIKHOFER Houston

Is high culture dead in America? Or have TIME's aesthetic taste buds gone dead? If all you can offer for "The Best Theater of 1996" is Rent as an updated opera, then American culture has indeed taken a dive. And as far as music is concerned, what happened to the brilliant performances of Wagner's Ring at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, or other noteworthy performances? How can watered-down rap as performed by the Fugees define what our culture should aspire to? Taste notwithstanding, you have completely ignored whole artistic genres. Your selection of the best should cover more than just pop culture. ALEXANDER J. WAYNE Chicago

I do not greatly admire Bob Dole, nor did I vote for him, but your insensitive feature photograph of his embarrassing pratfall--with his maimed hand outstretched and pain evident in his face--was one of your worst public performances of 1996. JEAN HALL Rye, New York

CHILDREN MARCHING TO WORK

Would Barbara Ehrenreich's satirical commentary about a toy company and child labor [ESSAY, Dec. 23] have a happier ending if multinational firms fired their child workers? Has Ehrenreich considered that the children are working not because they are forced to but for some other reason? In developing countries today, child income is necessary for a family's survival, as it was in the U.S. in the past. For my part, I find child labor a lesser evil than child starvation. ROBERT S. CARR Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan

GULF WAR FALLOUT

Five and a half years ago, as the American Legion first noticed an unusual pattern of illness among our Gulf War vets, we made an observation that Mark Thompson only mentioned in his article on Persian Gulf War syndrome [NATION, Dec. 23]. It was clear to us that a variety of factors had to be making our veterans ill. Not every sick vet was in the same place at the same time. In fact, significant numbers left the Middle East before the war started or arrived there some time after the fighting stopped.

We've long pressured the Pentagon to come clean with its information about the possibility of chemical exposure. We've heard too many credible stories to ignore, from vets with firsthand information. While we're glad that a glaring gap in the record is being filled and that researchers are taking their first serious look at the long-term consequences of exposure to low levels of chemical munitions, we must return to first principles. The "syndrome" is a beast with many heads. It's not likely that one factor--even exposure to chemical weapons-- caused all the illness we see among our newest group of U.S. veterans. Quick answers are unlikely. Meanwhile, we must honor this nation's commitment to care for people with lingering health problems that have come about as a result of their military service. JOHN F. SOMMER JR., Executive Director American Legion Washington

The Pentagon is not an individual and therefore cannot make decisions; only individuals within the Pentagon can. If there is a cover-up, you have to look no further than the two commanders who were in charge when the cover-up began, Day One of the war. PHILIP W. ALLEN London, Arkansas

VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

After reading your article on Kay Weekley, who killed her husband after years of violence [SOCIETY, Dec. 23], I had flashbacks of my own disastrous, painful, abusive relationship with my first husband. I can picture myself with a double-barreled shotgun standing over him while he was sleeping, the father of my only child, and trying to decide if this was the way I wanted to end my "living hell." Kay Weekley was a victim of a tragedy that has happened to others over and over again. I know the pain and I have the scars. Like her I had come to the end of my rope after a beating that left my body broken and traumatized.

I remember the times I thought about poisoning this man and having him done away with because of the pain, physical and emotional, that I endured from him for years. Through God's grace I was able to move, but after 10 years of being away from him, I still get flashbacks. Let Kay Weekley go! She's endured a thousand years of prison in what she has been through in this horrible relationship. YVONNE THOMPSON Los Angeles

As the assistant prosecutor in the Weekley case, I would like to add some information to your report. I believe your article distorted this case by simply rehashing the jury-rejected defense arguments. The relationship between Kay Weekley and her ex-husband Jackie was a violent one. Kay admitted that previous to Jackie's murder, she had shot up his car with him in it. The jury also heard evidence that on an earlier occasion she had Maced him and had beaten him with a frying pan while he slept. Her version of the knife fight that preceded Jackie's murder was not believable. Kay wasn't the only one hurt; Jackie went to the hospital cut up too.

The physical evidence presented at the murder trial was consistent with Kay's having shot Jackie from outside the trailer, where she admitted having earlier lain in wait to kill him. Kay Weekley ended this relationship by committing the ultimate act of domestic violence. RICHARD M. RIFFE, Assistant Prosecutor Boone County Madison, West Virginia

My father beat my mother for 15 years while people in authority did nothing. We never knew why or when my father would begin his assault. It could happen any day of the week and at any hour. When Kay Weekley stated that she knew her husband came to her trailer to kill her, she spoke as only a battered woman could speak--from experience. These women fear for their lives. My mother carried a small paring knife for protection against my father. Kay Weekley does not belong in jail. She should be with her children, who need all the love, compassion and understanding that their mother can offer, without the fear that their father caused. NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST Santa Fe, New Mexico

It's a tragedy that Jackie Weekley wasn't put in jail sooner. But it is also a tragedy that Kay Weekley wants to be excused from having committed murder. She did it. She had the opportunity to press charges and stop his violence. She had the chance to leave, but instead chose to use a shotgun. This is a twisted society in which we live. We glorify O.J. Simpson, while trying to pardon murder. Sure, there were circumstances that led to this action, but murder is murder. If a woman feels abused, she should leave the situation. If she cannot leave, then put the abuser in jail until she can reclaim her life. And let us not forget, this is a two-way street. Domestic violence is not always committed by men. JOE GALLAGHER Port Huron, Michigan

JESUS ON THE WEB

Going online by any religious group [RELIGION, Dec. 16] is to stay in step with the evolving technology of today's world, but Internet religious activity where there is no question of someone's imposing rules may not be the best place to find God. Judging by the proliferation of crowd-drawing churches, especially gospel ones, many people are thirsting for the truth about God. The Web may provide only a tiny drop of water for the parched tongues of this crowd. FUNMI LAGUDA Lagos, Nigeria

In religion on the Internet we have a dynamic version of any holy book: an illusion of magic, of deep wisdom, of true spirituality. But working in the shadows is a bunch of ordinary men and women putting together the "supreme trust" for the cybernaive. FERNANDO NUNEZ NODA Caracas, Venezuela

RUSSIAN REFORMIST

Your report on Russian political strategist Anatoli Chubais mentioned Sergei Lisovsky, a campaign worker and associate of Chubais', and said diplomats claim Lisovsky cannot get a visa to the U.S. "because of suspicion about his links to organized crime" [WORLD, Dec. 9]. I would like to point out that at no time has Lisovsky been indicted or received any summons relating to this supposed criminal activity. You've hurt the efforts being made by businessmen in Russia to operate under the standards of international business and at the same time work to support U.S. commercial interests there. Lisovsky has made major contributions to improving Russian television legislation and to normalizing copyright rules in the Russian film industry. Have you joined the forces of the most radical antireformist opposition? CHRISTOPHER ABEL SMITH Managing Director Premier Film Moscow