Quotes of the Day

Over the Moon
Jeffrey Kluger's "Moon Walkers" left me with a new appreciation of our astronauts [July 27]. It was carefully researched and beautifully written and filled in the gap in my knowledge of the lives of these men after their missions. Kluger's last paragraph on the enduring legacy of the 24 men's unique comradeship will stay with me. They are more human and more heroic than I ever imagined.
Gerry Mandel,
St. Louis, Mo., U.S.

The brave astronauts who immeasurably boosted America's status during the Cold War undertook their daring adventures with full knowledge of the mortal dangers involved. But even more than their achievements, the true measure of their greatness is the humility they have shown — in a world where very ordinary men cannot stop bragging about trivial triumphs.
Ajit Parihar,
Ludhiana, India

Mahinda the Conqueror
The statements made by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his interview with TIME should serve as a lesson for the leaders of larger regional neighbors such as India and Pakistan — countries where extremists, terrorists and separatists have made the lives of common people miserable [July 27]. Rajapaksa, though, has smashed a longstanding Tamil insurgency and united the country. He truly means what he says when he declares Sri Lankans are "my citizens. I am responsible for them." He has aptly demonstrated how a country should be ruled.
Brij Agarwal,
Bhopal, India

Can we please stop the Sri Lanka bashing and turn to supporting a nation with a mosaic of cultures that was sadly beset with over a quarter-century of separatist war. Journalists often ignored the atrocities committed by the Tamil Tigers — a group that assassinated two heads of state. Your article should have clearly congratulated Rajapaksa for having the strength of character to stand up to the protests of the international community and rid his land of the scourge of terror.
Chandri Gunawardhana,
Singapore

Rajapaksa professes his buddhist faith, which is based on nonviolence. Yet, by some accounts, his army behaved like butchers. Is it wrong for the Tamils in Sri Lanka to save their language and their culture? The whole world watched as the Sri Lankan army racked up significant civilian casualties on the grounds that it was fighting terrorism. Even now, Rajapaksa does not allow international observers to visit and see for themselves what happened. The press is gagged there. But the dreams of the Tamils will remain undimmed and Rajapaksa's successors will still have to wrestle with that quest for freedom.
K.S.S. Raghavan,
Chennai, India

Two-State Confusion
Chutzpah is the term that comes to mind when reading settler Israel Katz's response to President Obama's efforts to solve the West Bank – settlement issue [July 27]. Israel accepted $2.4 billion in aid last year from U.S. taxpayers, yet the Katz family and fellow settlers tell us to "butt out." Californians could use that money to ease our budget crisis, and we know better than to bite the hand that feeds us. Others, clearly, do not.
Doris Concklin,
Carmichael, Calif., U.S.

The Palestinians' land has been occupied by Israel for far too long. They've had enough. So they fire rockets of protest into Israel, and Israelis rain bombs down on the Palestinians. What are the Palestinians supposed to do? The Israelis keep saying that Hamas wants to wipe out the Israelis. Does anyone ever ask the Israelis if their goal is the destruction of the Palestinians?
Bill Petrusky Jr.,
Montville, N.J., U.S.

• Readers' letters