Letters

THE SIMPLE NEW YEAR'S EVE

Come on, guys! Don't dampen the millennium-celebration spirit [LIVING, Nov. 29]. In some parts of the world, people are excited and waiting for the greatest party ever! We here in Rio certainly are. Imagine passion, devotion, rhythm and respect welcoming you to the new era. ADRIAN CONSTANT Rio de Janeiro

You presented a sensible view of how to deal with millennium madness. After years of cocktail parties and late-night gatherings, my husband and I have spent the past few New Year's Eves with our four children. We've opted for a midnight family celebration with our kids at home. The next century belongs as much to our youth as to adults who will be attending those celebrations with a multitude of other people. ARLENE STEIER Omaha, Neb.

Maybe so many people are "saying no to the hype" because they know this New Year's Day is not the new millennium. That would be the next year, 2001. NEIL GARLAND Caldwell, N.J.

Your poll on what people will be doing New Year's Eve listed those who would be spending it with friends and family, alone with a spouse or alone by themselves, and those who weren't sure yet exactly what they would be doing. But what about the thousands (or maybe millions) of us who will be working through the midnight hour? We don't exist? PETER WARREN Vancouver

You missed an opportunity to mention the 200-plus cities that have First Night celebrations. Here's a simple and meaningful way to spend New Year's Eve in your own area with your neighbors. It sounds perfect to me--a party aimed at the family that is affordable and free of alcohol. It presents a smorgasbord of performances, part carnival, all within a few blocks. Afterward I will go home and, with champagne in hand, join my dog Charlie in front of the TV to watch the ball come down at midnight (taped earlier) in New York City. STEPHANIE BOOTH Monterey, Calif.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD

On your map showing how people around the world will spend New Year's Eve [LIVING, Nov. 29], you suggested that Yanomami tribe members in Roraima, Brazil, will probably ignore the millennium and go to bed early. But at midnight the men will in all likelihood be wide awake, huddling over their campfires and talking about life, just as they do every night. A tribal leader may explain what will be going on in other parts of the world on this night. The men will stand in awe trying to fathom this--for all of three minutes, after which they'll get back to more important things, like the next day's hunt, which is after all what life is really all about. WILLIAM O'DWYER FOGTMAN Documentary Filmmaker Rio de Janeiro

Nothing on your map of global events sounds as exciting as a New Year's Eve celebrated in Timbuktu, Mali. Already fully booked by tourists for this year's celebration, a night there takes the cake for being the most original way to spend the end of the century: in Africa, at the "end of the world" in Timbuktu! SAMIRA MEGHDESSIAN Conakry, Guinea

VIRGIN ATLANTIC IS Y2K READY

The graphic with your story "The Y2K Bug: Do We Still Have to Worry?" [LIVING, Nov. 29] stated that Virgin Atlantic has halted "flights for 24 hours." This could mislead readers into thinking our airline is not flying because we might have Y2K fears. This is as far from the truth as you can get. We at Virgin Atlantic Airways decided many months ago to allow our employees the time off. Our passengers and staff always give us the best advice on how to run the airline, and the millennium is no exception. Both groups told us they want to celebrate this unique New Year with their friends and family. And that is the reason we will not be flying from midday Dec. 31 until midday Jan. 1. The gateways into which Virgin Atlantic flies are all Y2K ready, and the airline has been certified as Y2K ready by government agencies. Our decision not to fly over the millennium is pure and simple in its intentions: we want everyone to have a New Year's Eve to remember. RICHARD BRANSON, CHAIRMAN Virgin Atlantic Airways London

QUESTIONS ABOUT FLIGHT 990

Along with others around the world, I was saddened by the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 [WORLD, Nov. 29]. My heart went out to the families of the passengers and crew. I felt the greatest sorrow, however, for the family of relief pilot Gamil el-Batouti. Besides having to deal with the loss of a husband and father, the family had to cope with the anguish of a name destroyed by unproved accusations of mass murder and suicide. The ideal situation would have been to avoid reaching any conclusions before a thorough investigation of the crash had been completed. But the situation being what it was, your article did a good job of relating the different sides of the story in a fair, impartial manner. FAROOQ JAVED St. Louis, Mo.

The flight-data recorder and cockpit voice recorder both stopped working when EgyptAir 990's engines were cut off. It seems that these recorders rely totally on power from the engines. However, logic tells us they should have an independent power source (batteries) for each recorder. That way data would be available up to the last minute. Am I right in assuming they do not have their own power source? ENRIQUE SCHONFELDT Delta, B.C.

Yes, when the engines go off, the data recorders have no power source. The U.S. government and manufacturers are trying to design a system that can provide backup power while withstanding the devastating impact of a crash.

WORLD TRADE IN THE CROSS HAIRS

Your article on the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle [TRADE WARS, Nov. 29] failed to clarify the fundamental dangers posed by the current structure of the WTO. Free trade--producing and selling goods at the lowest possible cost worldwide--sounds like a noble aim, but when it depends on child labor, unnecessary cruelty or the destruction of natural ecosystems, we gain nothing. If the WTO continues to shoot down environmental protections legislated by its member nations, free trade will become a race to the bottom for short-term gain and long-term destruction. That explains the protests in Seattle. ROBERT GREENWOOD Carmel, Calif.

The issue of the World Trade Organization isn't so much one of globalization as of democracy vs. corpor-ocracy. Globalization has the potential to gradually lift all countries to higher standards for the environment, labor laws and justice. Instead, the WTO, multinational companies and governments are using globalization and open trade to circumvent democratically enacted laws that emphasize the need for a better quality of life and more balanced values. KERRY MCDANIEL Berkeley, Calif.

There is no such thing as a global marketplace. There is only the same old colonial imperialism exploiting Third World labor rates. Only now it is driven by multinational businesses instead of political entities. When the average Chinese worker is able to pay $100 for his kids' sneakers and can afford to drive a Ford to his local Starbucks, you can talk to me about a global economy. MATT LESNIESKI Stanhope, N.J.

International trade has helped establish and maintain international peace and alleviate the desperate poverty of the world's least developed nations. Rich countries use tariffs, quotas and subsidies to keep out goods from the developing world. The environmental and human-rights problems in various countries cannot be pinned on worldwide trade. Experience demonstrates that economic development and openness can help achieve better human rights and environmental protection. MARK A. STUCKART Stamford, Conn.

TERMINATOR FOODS?

Thank you for your article about the self-sterilizing "terminator" seed and the bioengineering of the foods we eat [TRADE WARS, Nov. 29]. The concept science has created is both fascinating and scary. Fascinating because new varieties of plants could help decrease the need for pesticides and herbicides. They could also boost food production. Scary because the scientists can't truthfully tell us what the consequences of eating this food might be. They don't know what will happen when wild crops are cross-pollinated by bioengineered crops. People have the right to know what is in the food they eat. LISA A. YANKOWSKI South Burlington, Vt.

Your article on the reaction to genetically modified crops read just like an antibiotech pamphlet. Your reporting of a Food and Drug Administration public hearing on biotechnology quoted no government scientists or university experts who discussed the safety of the technology. What's most appalling, though, is that you ended your piece with a warning that food producers might uproot an industry that could help feed the world if they overreact to "fears fanned by well-fed consumers." Articles headlined "Who's Afraid of Frankenfood?" serve only to fan those fears. C. MANLY MOLPUS PRESIDENT AND CEO Grocery Manufacturers of America Washington

You referred to "a lone British researcher who claimed--somewhat dubiously--that g.m. [genetically modified] potatoes damaged his lab rats." Given the lack of research into the effects of g.m. foods, doesn't it seem odd that the British government would not try to determine whether the g.m. potatoes did or did not damage internal organs and compromise the immune system of rats, if not humans? To me, this is the story. MATTHEW HODGES Cambridge, Mass.

Your word Frankenfood is a catchy way to describe genetically modified crops. It gets attention but trivializes the potential of a new tool for decreasing the environmental impact of agrochemicals and improving the nutritional value of food. Insect- and herbicide-resistant crops substantially decrease the amount of agrochemicals applied in the environment. Similarly, crops engineered with increased vitamin, iron and balanced amino-acid content can improve the health of millions of people. These are the goals of conscientious scientists who want to make positive contributions to the human condition. DANIEL BUSH, Plant Biologist Urbana, Ill.

FEES FOR YOUR MONEY

I do not understand the antagonism toward paying ATM fees [BUSINESS, Nov. 29]. Twenty years ago, to cash a check you had to go to your own bank or a branch. You had to show up during banking hours, wait in line and then have proper identification. The banks have purchased and installed ATMs at a cost of thousands of dollars. Does anybody really think they did that without expecting to make a profit? Now you can go to your bank's ATMs and get cash usually at no charge at almost any time. Why would anybody in his right mind object to paying a few dollars for this convenience? JOSEPH T. FREEMAN Cary, N.C.

I have never, not once, used an ATM. Also, I have never, not once, bought a BMW. Why? Because I can't afford either of them. After the government is done telling banks that they can't charge fees, I hope it will tell my local BMW dealer to sell its cars for $5,000. Then I'll go to my ATM and get the cash to buy my BMW. With any kind of luck, I'll get this done before they both go out of business due to idiotic government interference. GARY W. JOHNSON Dekalb, Ill.

THAT BONFIRE TRADITION

I was appalled at the subhead on your article about the collapse of the woodpile being built for the Texas A&M bonfire [NEWS, Nov. 29]. You asked, "Who's to blame?" That is not the issue. It is the grief the entire Aggie family is suffering at the loss of 12 brothers and sisters, and our pain for the students who were injured. Please take into consideration the anguish we continue to feel. CARRIE L. BLAND, CLASS OF '00 Texas A&M University College Station, Texas

Some traditions are meant to be abolished. Spending weeks to gather thousands of logs to build a bonfire because of a football rivalry is a waste of human and natural resources. JULIAN T. NGUYEN Reseda, Calif.