Quotes of the Day
The Generals' Shame
Your cover photo paints a tellingly bleak picture of Burma's suffering [May 19]. It is ludicrous that amid such a catastrophe the military junta asked people to vote on a constitutional referendum to enable their sham "discipline-flourishing democracy." It is even more reprehensible that, while people are starving and dying in the cyclone's wake, the military is hampering the efforts of relief workers. Too bad Burma's resources are not as coveted as those of the Middle East. If they were, surely the U.S. and a coalition of other willing allies would have forced more comprehensive action.
John Lee,
Hong Kong
Most Burmese would happily take one more Cyclone Nargis in place of this regime of military dictators; they are still the Public Enemy No. 1. Their response to the cyclone has nakedly shown to the world the extent of their greed and stupidity. One can only hope that the soldiers serving underneath these thugs will at some point say, for the good of the country, Enough is enough.
Kyaw Kyaw,
Penang, Malaysia
Israel at 60
Re Tim Mcgirk's piece on Israel: while it's true that certain Arab leaders (though not Palestinians) have spoken of "pushing the Israelis into the sea," I am at a loss to find even one instance of Israelis speaking of "driving the Arabs into the desert sands" [May 19]. Quite to the contrary: most Israelis would be content for Palestinians to establish a peaceful state in the West Bank and Gaza and, in return, let Israelis live in peace in Israel. Regrettably for both, as long as several major Arab factions are sworn to the destruction of Israel, this will not happen.
Arye Ephrath,
Fairfax, Va., U.S.
The founding of Israel in May 1948 is in reality one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history. Those who reside in the West Bank and Gaza as well as the millions of refugees forced to flee and never allowed to return acknowledge the day for what it is: the catastrophe. The continued violation of Palestinian human rights is clear and well-documented, albeit ferociously undermined and consciously distorted by Israel and Israel's U.S. supporters. It is ironic that 2008 is also the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the apartheid regime in South Africa, which only lasted 46 years before it collapsed under international pressure. When will that same international pressure free the citizens of Palestine?
J.D. McRary,
Clarkston, Ga., U.S.
The True Meaning of Iron Man
Richard Corliss totally missed the boat in his analysis of the movie Iron Man [May 19]. The implicit message of the film, with its stereotypical portrayals of Middle Eastern men and trivialization of the role of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, is not, as Corliss states, that "we've dwelled too long in the crypts of antiscientific dystopia." It is rather that the possession of state-of-the-art high-tech weaponry is the key to the triumph of good over evil, that might makes right and that combat is just a high-tech video game. The real villains in this film are not the merchants who supply both sides with weapons of mass destruction but filmmakers who are warping the hearts and minds of the current generation of moviegoers.
Jean Ann Edsall,
Eugene, Ore., U.S.
Time to Stop?
I have grown disappointed over the past few years as TIME seems to have developed an unending devotion to lists of people [TIME 100, May 12]. I imagine you all sitting around a table at a bar, throwing out names and drinking beer as you pretend these lists provide anything that resembles decent content. What happened to the masterful magazine of record and real depth? As a longtime subscriber, I wish you would go back to substantive reporting and drop the vacuous list-making.
Susan Heron,
Tampa, Fla., U.S.
