Letters

THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE

"Genetic codes aren't something we should mess around with. We were given our unique characteristics for a reason." SARAH LOZO Dallas, Pa.

After reading your articles on biotechnology [THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE, Jan. 11], I realized that for better or for worse, genetic engineering is now a permanent fixture in our daily life. Its potential to benefit society is great. However, many have decided that genetic engineering is unethical and immoral. We should remember that any knowledge can be used for evil and unethical purposes. It's not the field of genetic engineering that's unethical or ethical but how we choose to make use of the new scientific developments. ANDREW MCCONNON, age 15 Brampton, Ont.

Before we get too carried away by the idea of improving human intelligence with genetic technology, it's worth noting that no domesticated animal is more intelligent than its wild, undomesticated ancestor. Compare a domesticated dog with a wolf or a coyote, and the tame dog will come up short. Intelligence evolves in response to heavy selective pressures in the struggle for survival. The lean, mean environment of the urban poor, not the "pop genetics" of the affluent suburbs, is already producing some of our next generation's geniuses. JOHN W. HOOPES Lawrence, Kans.

Re your story "Good Eggs, Bad Eggs," on prenatal genetic testing: if his parents had used this procedure, wouldn't physicist Stephen Hawking [who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease] have been considered a bad egg? RON THIMOT Haverhill, Mass.

How utterly typical of the U.S. as a society to invest so extravagantly in expanding the knowledge of genetics while at the same time excising every last bit of caring from our health-care system. Knowledge without the insight to use it compassionately is terrifying, as your article on eugenics made abundantly clear. Give me the new genetically engineered therapies, but, Mr. Insurance Man, also give me a moment with my patient to explain what it all means. JONATHAN SHELDON, M.D. Englewood, Colo.

Genetic testing may be the ounce of prevention needed to save billions of dollars on one pound of cure in later life. GENE RATNER Carson City, Nev.

Human experience suggests that one of the least valuable measures of human progress is a long and healthy life. It is more often the genetic mishaps that enable us to see beyond functionality to a different essence of human value. We need to be patient because the growth rate of knowledge far outstrips our comprehension. It is only with the grace of understanding that we can make wise judgments about the use of knowledge. KEN WHELAN San Francisco

Guess where most of the genetically perfect kids, developed as a result of gene insertion, will go? Straight to full-time day care, so their parents can pay off the $50,000 spent to have them. If the kids are not perfect, we can turn to your magazine, filled with Pfizer ads, to help us cope with this horrific life through various drugs. Having kids is about unconditional love, and life is about struggle. But in the future, maybe happiness will lie in kids--only the perfect ones--and in prescription drugs that cost a lot of money. HELLEREN GREGORY Walnut Creek, Calif.

THE FRANKENSTEIN FACTOR

The genetically modified crops described in "Brave New Farm" [THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE, Jan. 11] do indeed cause alarm among Europeans who are wary of the unknown consequences of hormones on food. And it's easy to understand why Europeans fear this Frankenstein factor like the plague. May they long resist the pressure of the drug and chemical industries to increase food production at the expense of their health. Some people see the "Roseanne effect," the obese state of Americans, and blame it on bioengineered foods. And looking like Roseanne is scarier than seeing Frankenstein's monster. GEIR H. GUNNARSSON Vancouver

MAYBE SOME GOOD FROM BAD

Perhaps some good can come from the impeachment mess [NATION, Jan. 11]. Maybe U.S. politics can evolve into a three-party system wherein the purists are represented by the Liberal and Conservative parties, while a moderate party signs up those who attempt to understand the validity of all sides of an issue and reach an 80% consensus before moving forward. PATRICK FLOYD Birch Bay, Wash.

Is there any way to impeach the Congress before 2000? RICHARD MILES Los Angeles

Clinton is being assassinated just as surely as Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy were. This time the conspirators simply choose to assassinate the President's character and let blind justice do the rest. The simplicity of it all is astounding. The willing women, the convenient tapes, the DNA sample and the immunity from prosecution all spell setup. President Clinton is being shot down by the softest bullets in history. BRIAN DAVIDSON Dryden, Ont.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

It is hard to believe that the U.S. and Britain chose the name Operation Desert Fox for the attacks on Iraq [NATION, Dec. 28, 1998-Jan. 4, 1999]. Don't the Allies of World War II remember that Desert Fox was the nickname of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the German commander of the Afrika Korps who humiliated the British, nearly captured Egypt and threatened the outcome of the war? The association of Rommel with the fight against Saddam Hussein is deplorable. Can you imagine a present-day French action named Waterloo or an American venture named Saigon? For Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to okay the name Desert Fox raises serious doubts about their understanding of the Middle East. Such little wisdom governs the world. EMANUEL FRIEDLANDER Beth Jizchak, Israel

THE VOICE OF TERROR

Your interview with accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, revealing his warped concept of Islam, was scary [WORLD, Jan. 11]. It is unfortunate that in the name of one of the great religions of the world, this renegade millionaire uses his money to instigate murder rather than feed the hungry or lift up his fellow man. SAMUEL KAGEL Wilmington, Del.

I agree with bin Laden in his opposition to America. The U.S. goes where its own interests lie. Launching air attacks on Iraq while not using force to stop the killings of Kosovo refugees is but one example of America's double standard. IMRAN YOUNAS KHAN Rawalpindi, Pakistan

The sadistic views expressed by bin Laden are not those of Islam or of Muslims but rather those of an ill man. REZA SOLTANZADEH Los Angeles

How can bin Laden, who so often refers to God, confess to being pleased at the bestial killings achieved "by the grace of God"? How can he justify the murder of innocent people in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam--women, children, men, some of them probably Muslim. Of course he cannot. This unmasks him as the kind of leader he really is--a bloody, murderous terrorist. WILLIBALD SONTAG Koblenz, Germany

Bin Laden's interpretation of Islam is not shared by most Muslims, since Islam is a religion of peace. But the U.S. became involved in Bosnia very late, only after thousands of innocent Muslims had been killed, and it still has not acted to prevent the persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. SHOAIB AZIZ Karachi

TO EACH HER OWN

When she met with Monica Lewinsky [NOTEBOOK, Jan. 11], Barbara Walters was quoted as saying, "I found Monica warm and intelligent and very open." How sweet! After all, Barbara also found Richard Nixon "sexy"! MARIANNA BERGER Lakewood, Colo.

SPARE CHANGE DOESN'T CUT IT

Thank you for the kind mention of us as street performers in your piece on PBS's program about music along the Mississippi River [TELEVISION, Jan. 11]. However, we do not play just for "spare change," as your story stated. We want your money, honey! Throw us a dollar or throw us a five; help keep us alive! Or if you can afford plenty, give us a 20! We are winners of awards in New Orleans. Also, we play fairs and festivals all over the world. And here you can't even get coffee for spare change anymore. DAVID LEONARD AND ROSELYN LIONHART New Orleans

CORRECTIONS

Our article on gene hunter Craig Venter [THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE, Jan. 11] incorrectly referred to Venter's mentor; he is Ronald Nadel, not Nadal.

A "Numbers" item [NOTEBOOK, Jan. 11] had incorrect figures for Wal-Mart's current market capitalization. It is $178 billion, not $15.4 billion.