Letters

A SMART MEDIA SATIRE WITH A BREAKTHROUGH ROLE

"You've perfectly captured the paradox that is Jim Carrey: a man who has grown past, but still remains, the frightening mask of mirth." STEPHEN GERALD KENT Cranbrook, B.C.

I was happy to see such a great article about Jim Carrey [CINEMA, June 1]. I have been a Carrey fan from the beginning and am excited by his new movie, The Truman Show. I know he is actually a great actor, not just a clown. This movie will change his career and will prove to the world that he is not merely a one-joke man but is one of the best actors Hollywood has to offer! ERIC SNYDER Gilbert, Ariz.

Am I subscribing to PEOPLE magazine? To put Frank Sinatra and then Carrey on consecutive covers at a time when India explodes its first nuclear bomb, Indonesia's ruler of 32 years steps down and the Department of Justice sues Microsoft is unconscionable. JEFF NIELSEN Corvallis, Ore.

Carrey on the cover? I couldn't have been more underwhelmed had you picked Jerry Springer. DAVID C. WOLF Kenner, La.

You referred to The Truman Show as "the summer's smartest movie." Um, I hate to point this out to you, folks, but in a season filled with a giant radioactive lizard and big ole asteroids, it doesn't take much to be smart! ZACK HANDLEN Lyman, Maine

BIPIN SHAH RESPONDS

Sadly, many of TIME's readers who wrote in response to Steve Lopez's well-crafted and balanced story about my search for my two daughters [SOCIETY, May 11] just don't get it. Whether readers love me, hate me or believe I'm arrogant doesn't really matter. My sole concern is for my two little girls, abducted illegally by their mother, my ex-wife, nearly a year ago. My heart breaks when I ponder where they are running to now. How will this end? How will this emotionally affect two innocent children? What lessons are we teaching our children? Run if you can't get your way?

Is it fair for children to be used as pawns by one parent to punish the other? My ex-wife and Faye Yager, who runs an illegal underground network, don't speak for my children. They don't speak for me. Yet, in concert, they removed my daughters' rights to see me and my rights as a parent to see them. I find that reprehensible. One of your readers characterized Yager as a saint. Mother Teresa was a saint. She never broke the law or lived a life-style separate from that of the people she helped. Yager is no Mother Teresa.

Why is it that when a marriage dissolves, women are always characterized as victims? There are good men in this world, just as there are bad women. BIPIN C. SHAH Rosemont, Pa.

HOW TO GET OFF DRUGS QUICKLY

The ultra-rapid opiate-detoxification program that helps patients withdrawing from addictive drugs [MEDICINE, June 1] was developed and patented by the CITA organization. It was a vindication of the safety of the CITA process to see the criticism of our so-called competitors, who perform unsafe variations of rapid detox in cheap storefronts. They exploit a desperate and vulnerable patient population. In contrast, CITA operates from prestigious hospitals, using the finest physicians and medical treatments. More than 500 patients have been effectively treated, affording an unprecedented opportunity for those addicted to heroin, methadone and narcotic painkillers to return to a functioning life after years of failed attempts at rehabilitation. BENNETT L. OPPENHEIM Clinical Director CITAmericas Inc. Fort Lee, N.J.

You flagged the importance of how popular entertainment shows like E.R. treat health issues. In fact, surveys conducted by this foundation show that 53% of E.R.'s regular viewers say they learn about vital health-care issues from watching the program, and 12% say they have contacted a medical professional because of something they saw on the show. As you noted, our foundation works with TV writers. One reason we do so is to help ensure that their portrayals of health issues are accurate and balanced. But to compare the public-health efforts of nonprofits like the foundation with those of for-profit companies pitching their wares is unfair and shortsighted. We work with writers and producers who want to entertain and educate at the same time--surely a plus for everyone. VICKY RIDEOUT, Director Entertainment Media & Public Health Program Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Menlo Park, Calif.

I am the pediatric anesthesiologist involved in the case of a 10-month-old boy addicted to methadone whose story was the basis for an E.R. episode. I feel you missed a major point in your report. While ultra-rapid detoxification may give false hope to some patients, drug addiction in infants and young children is different from that in adults. Ultra-rapid detoxification in selected infants and young children can free them from the effects of a dangerous drug addiction imposed on them by their mother. The baby in the case I handled was detoxified without incident in the intensive-care unit shortly after a successful major cardiac surgical procedure. In the weeks following the rapid detox, the child exhibited remarkable and profound improvement in his cognitive and neurologic development. Publicizing rapid detox through popular television shows has absolutely nothing to do with promoting medical business ideas that might be financially profitable to certain firms. This story was presented on E.R. because it was able to illuminate an important issue in medicine today. MARK GREENBERG, M.D. Director, Pediatric Pain Service UCSD Medical Center San Diego

OUR SCHOOLS NEED TO BE ONLINE

In the Telecommunications Act of 1996 [NATION, May 25], Congress wisely recognized that we must bring telecommunications technology via the Internet to our nation's schools and libraries. This effort is critical to ensuring that low-income Americans and those in rural areas gain access to the tools they need to compete in our information-age economy. Bringing technology to all Americans is the key to our future as a global competitor. We simply cannot stand by and allow our schoolchildren to be bypassed by the information highway. Discounts for schools and libraries mean education today and jobs tomorrow. It's an investment we must make. WILLIAM E. KENNARD, Chairman Federal Communications Commission Washington

FLY ME TO THE MOON--ON TWA

In his commentary on Disney's tomorrowland [SPECTATOR, May 25], Bruce Handy recalled Walt Disney's vision of a TWA rocket to the moon and said that even if TWA did fly to the moon, no one would go because the service wouldn't be very good. Handy obviously hasn't flown TWA lately. In May we won the J.D. Power & Associates award as the No. 1 domestic airline for customer satisfaction for flights over 500 miles. This isn't just an industry-insider accolade; it comes from our regular customers. We're sure that anyone who wants to take the longest flight of all--to the moon--would welcome flying TWA. DON CASEY Executive Vice President, Marketing Trans World Airlines St. Louis, Mo.

THE PRESS AND CANCER

Through an editing error, the letter below was printed in an abbreviated form [LETTERS, June 8]. To convey the writer's viewpoint precisely, we are publishing the original letter in full.

Although I work for the New York Times, I'm writing you as a cancer patient undergoing treatment. You maligned science reporter Gina Kolata's Times article on new cancer drugs for creating "false hopes" in patients most in need of a breakthrough [SPECIAL REPORT: CURING CANCER, May 18]. Not only does your own follow-up reporting belie that charge (clearly there is sufficient new hope to call for a TIME cover story), but if you interview enough cancer patients, you'll find that hope is its own drug, false or not. Are you implying that cancer patients would rather not know about such progress and live in a world where doctors can disclose promising research on their own timetable? Those days are over, thank God, and the reaction to Ms. Kolata's article proves it. I would assume that the response--what you call hype--will pressure drug companies and researchers to compete, get faster results from the FDA and encourage funding. It seems the false hopes that were most dashed were those of TIME's journalists who didn't get the story first. AMY M. SPINDLER New York City

BURYING THE PAST

Peace in Northern Ireland [WORLD, June 1]? I'll believe it when I see it. Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, may have changed his tune, but others have not. Ask me 30 years from now whether this was a watershed or just another "Sinn Feint." FLASH FIASCO Mannheim, Germany

HABIBIE TAKES CHARGE

Too much has been written about Suharto. Enough is enough [WORLD, June 1]. Pol Pot is dead and resting in peace, so why not let Suharto live in peace with his family and enjoy the last part of his life as a private citizen? President B.J. Habibie should go on with his work but remember that the path to economic recovery is very bumpy. It will take hard work, sincerity, resilience and the fulfillment of the promises made to the Indonesian people. KAMARULZAMAN ZAINAL Kuala Lumpur

There are so many rumors flying around here, mostly irresponsible political gossip, about when new elections may be held. But we learn from history. This situation is exactly like the one in 1968, when Suharto deposed Sukarno because Sukarno's extravagant spending had damaged the economy. SAHABBUDIN NUR Uujungpandang, Indonesia

Habibie's loyalty to Suharto, extreme or otherwise, is common for a politician. There is nothing extraordinary about it, considering that Habibie has known Suharto since the new President was 13! But Habibie is loyal to Indonesia. No one else is better qualified to lead. It is still not possible, however, to resolve the country's economic problems quickly. As for the real and sensible changes alluded to, I am certain that the International Monetary Fund package is not meant to bail out Indonesia. On the contrary, its aim is to help foreign banks that have taken business risks in Indonesia and lost badly. Could everybody just stop interfering and let the Indonesians themselves decide what's good for the nation? They don't need more chaos. HUSSIN NAYAN Sarajevo

AN ALL-AMERICAN KILLER

I was fascinated by your report on the shooting in an Oregon high school in which 15-year-old Kip Kinkel is charged with firing on fellow students [NATION, June 1]. A neighbor described Kinkel as "an all-American kid," but the U.S. is the only country in the world whose society regards kids with guns as an everyday fact of life. People like this young killer grab headlines and become superstars in the media for doing monstrous things. If they didn't get so much attention in the press and on television, do you think these kinds of things would happen? Guns are weapons designed to kill. Why make them available to everyone? Don't put the blame on the school or the police. It's U.S. society that is ill. CHRISTIAN PODESTA CARLEVARIS Buenos Aires

You noted the spate of shootings by white male teens in American high schools, but what about the countless children growing up in impoverished areas in America's urban jungles who witness violence on a day-to-day basis? Don't their stories deserve mention? Glamourized violence in the 'hood has leaped from the TV set into the schoolyard with tragic consequences. MELI MAIVUSAROKO West Chermside, Australia

FALLOUT FROM NUKE TESTS

Now that both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons, the U.N. should enforce mandates that will prevent a nuclear confrontation between these two irrationally aggressive neighbors [WORLD, May 25]. Sanctions will not work--indeed, both countries had already weighed this consequence before recklessly pressing ahead with their nuclear preparations. What is needed to bring India and Pakistan to their senses is the threat of a multinational action that could end in a pre-emptive military strike against their nuclear-bomb making facilities. That would save us all from having nuclear war erupt over the Kashmir issue or some other jingoistic dispute. Fortunately, the threat of force made Iraq's Saddam Hussein back down. PAUL BEAUMONT Bangkok

Logically, developing countries like India and Pakistan, teeming with hungry, illiterate millions, should not waste their money building up nuclear arsenals. It is a strong economy--not a few nuclear explosions--that will earn a nation prestige in the world community. But politicians, whether Indian, Pakistani or American, rarely act logically. NANDINI DUTTA New Delhi

The U.S. and Russia combined have more than 34,000 warheads and have performed more than 1,700 nuclear tests. Yet they condemn a country that has a mere 65 nuclear warheads. This debate has little to do with nonproliferation and much to do with the perceived threat to international powers. ROSS HOOKER Neuenburg, Germany

We need to take a hard look at the logic behind the theory of nuclear deterrence, questioning the premise that the fear of mutual mass destruction will discourage the use of nuclear weapons. The hateful leaders of India and Pakistan have shown us that no nation, including the U.S., should be allowed the privilege of destroying the world in the name of its own survival and beliefs--Hinduism, Islam, democracy or whatever. Nuclear disarmament for all is the most urgent agenda. Otherwise, the year 2000 will surely have a black dawn. RUJAYA ABHAKORN Passau, Germany

America was prompt enough in exercising sanctions against India and Pakistan for going nuclear. Will the same sanctions apply to Israel if it decides to detonate an atomic device? Or will America come up with an excuse and follow the policy of double standards? FARHAN AHMED Karachi

Members of the nuclear club will not waste their arsenals on countries that do not possess the Bomb. In the fullness of time, they may blow one another out of existence and leave the world to those who have renounced such insanity. JAMES BATTERSHILL Hamber Place, B.C.

The national security of Pakistan and its need to perform nuclear tests outweighed American incentives not to carry them out. The U.S. should put itself in Pakistan's shoes and ask what it would have done if Russia had set off tests as India did. I am sure America would have reacted the same way that Pakistan did. MOHAMMAD FAHIM Karachi

For the past 50 years, we have heard what a great friend and ally Pakistan is to the U.S. But when the U.S., on the basis of this friendship, requested that Pakistan not carry out nuclear tests of its own, what did Pakistan do? It humiliated America in front of the whole world and went right ahead with its nukes. This proves that Pakistan is certainly no friend to the U.S. and no ally. BHARATI SINHA ROY Mumbai, India

HEAR GODZILLA ROAR

You said that the new film Godzilla [CINEMA, May 25] used the beast's original yell from Japanese films. This is false. We spent a year recording and designing sounds to create a high-tech '90s Godzilla roar. We used portions of the classic scream and enhanced it with musical instruments and animal sounds. GODZILLA SOUND EFFECTS TEAM Soundelux Hollywood Hollywood