Letters

Inside the Womb

These superb pictures brilliantly illustrate the miracle of the earliest days of life our very first photo album!
Rose McBride Samra
Portage, Mich.

I am nine months pregnant, and i was totally mesmerized by your report [SCIENCE, Nov. 11]. The pictures of a baby's brain, heart, stomach, umbilical cord and other major organs were amazing. This is our first baby (it's a boy), and to see all of what's growing inside me was a blessing from God.
Jennifer Barnard
Apple Valley, Calif.

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Thank you so much for the fascinating images and the article "Inside the Womb." As a registered nurse, I can appreciate the importance of these pictures and the story, especially for teaching my teenage friends. High-quality information presented in easily understood language is a valuable aid to remind the young to think before they act.
Marjorie Harck, R.N.
Lubbock, Texas

As a labor and delivery nurse, I have to say the images from conception to birth were amazing. Maybe if more people read this article, they would think twice before having an abortion.
Michele Salvatore
New York City

Regardless of anyone's stance on abortion, one fact has become clear, as you stated: "No matter what the species, nature uses virtually the same nails and screws, the same hammers and power tools to put an embryo together." With this knowledge under our belt, it is irresponsible if not morally reprehensible for us to continue exploiting other species for our selfish purposes. Whether we slaughter animals for food, skin them for clothing or goad them into entertaining us at the circus, we can no longer deny our kinship with them.
Christina J. Johnson
Long Beach, Calif.

Viewing this gallery of images was a unique experience. I thank photographer Alexander Tsiaras for his beautiful work. It is a moving masterpiece.
Bonnie Denhardt
Salt Lake City, Utah

The timing of your article was perfect. My wife and I read it as she was entering her second trimester of pregnancy. What an outstanding education in the technology we call life!
Greg Hurd
Santa Rosa, Calif.

The Gathering Gloom

In his piece about the early onset of darkness, Walter Kirn calls for an emergency extension of daylight saving time (DST) so it will be light later [ESSAY, Nov. 11]. Unlike Kirn, I'm glad dst is over. Without sunlight, I had trouble waking up and facing a new day's challenges. An extra hour of light in the afternoon doesn't really do any good. Who is going to take a walk in diminishing sunlight when it's almost freezing outside? Extending DST is not going to change people's perception of winter very much. Winter isn't a gloomy time; it enables us to look forward to spring. If Kirn wants a new calendar, he should be looking into the Chinese lunar calendar, in which spring starts promptly on Jan. 1.
Andrew Huang
Willington, Conn.

Re daylight saving time: fix the time, and forget it! I'm tired of resetting clocks.
John Mason Loughlin
Eugene, Ore.

Taking It on Faith

Your report "trust me, he says," about the President's confrontation with Iraq [ESSAY, Nov. 11], missed critical realities that George W. Bush understands. Naturally, a number of those who responded to TIME's poll have "some doubts and reservations" about Bush's leadership as we anticipate going to war. But this could simply mean that Americans see war as a regrettable necessity. The President has decided to plunge ahead because he believes we face a future menaced by frightening weapons brandished by brutal killers who have gone unchallenged and unchecked. It is not a matter of a new, Bush-style Manifest Destiny for a superpower that "obeys only the laws that suit it and respects only the nations that resemble it." It is a matter of giving subjugated peoples a voice and of safeguarding the future.
Thomas M. Doran
Plymouth, Mich.

As you noted, Bush's advisers talk of "transplanting democracy to a region where it has never taken root," jump-starting the Middle East peace process and sparking "an outbreak of secular prosperity." Though these things could make the soil of the Arab world less hospitable to the next generation of Osama bin Ladens, such a climate will not come about by further occupation of Arab lands by U.S. and other foreign forces. Instead of taking military steps, the U.S. should be playing an active, leading role as an honest and unbiased broker in the stalled Middle East peace process. That's what would help.
Omar Mahayni
Farmington, Mich.

Bush promotes going to war in Iraq. I suppose he thinks it will get him re-elected in 2004. But how can people support this President? I am a senior citizen who has had to go back to work part time to help meet expenses. Bush doesn't back any of the things that would help senior citizens. He doesn't promote prescription-drug coverage under Medicare. The tax cuts Bush wants reduce the money available to finance programs that could help senior citizens. My tax refund was $56. Does anyone believe that it could help the economy grow or bounce back? Get serious, Mr. President.
Ann H. Saxton
Louisville, Ky.