The TIME 100

Re “The World’s Most Influential People,” Ann Coulter was correct that Sarah Palin was responsible for “more votes than the usual vice-presidential candidate” [May 11]. I think Coulter missed that most of those votes went to the other ticket.
Erin Pagel, REDLANDS, CALIF., U.S.

Your 100 movers and shakers are left-field fixtures if you leave out organized religion. No room for Benedict XVI, the Dalai Lama or Ned Flanders?
Joseph Kelly, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

I read J.K. Rowling’s tribute to Gordon Brown with incredulity, only tempered by the knowledge that her speciality is fiction.
Graham Turner, KIRKBYMOORSIDE, ENGLAND

Thank you for recognizing the work of Barbara Hogan as Minister of Health in South Africa. She achieved near miracles during her short time in the post and we are very proud of her. But there is still much to be achieved.
Mariano Castrillon, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

You included Suze Orman, Rush Limbaugh, The View ladies, Tina Fey and Rick Warren on your list of the world’s most influential people. Which world? Their influences outside the borders of the United States and Canada are nonexistent.
James McEvoy, BRUSSELS

Choosing the 100 most influential people is certainly subjective, but it seems strange that the list does not include the President of the European Union Commission, José Manuel Barroso.
Miguel Mota, OEIRAS, PORTUGAL

As a Saudi citizen, I strongly disagree with Liz Cheney that Deputy Minister for Women’s Education Norah al-Faiz will face obstacles because she “can’t, for example, work face to face with male counterparts without violating the kingdom’s strict religious code.” I believe in the female right of privacy. Most Saudi women feel that way as well. We have separate campuses at the university for men and women. Giving women their own places to work and compete is better than their being second-class employees, as in some Western countries.
Saleh Almuzaini, RIYADH

How could TIME have excluded Ben Bernanke, whose composure and decisive action averted an economic catastrophe?
Michael Matus, FORT MILL, S.C., U.S.

Distorted Reflection
Beppe Severgnini is right that in order to get rid of Berlusconi, the media-mogul Prime Minister, Italians must first learn to shed the Berlusconi inside them [An Italian Mirror, May 11]. So, what are we waiting for?
Marco Guizzardi, BOLOGNA, ITALY

Basta Mr. Berlusconi: grow up or go away! Italians deserve an adult leader who does not embarrass us with testosterone-driven behavior. I completely disagree with Severgnini that Berlusconi “embodies his country’s attributes perfectly.” The world can rest assured: Italians are better than Mr. B. in more ways than I can count.
Federico Demi, PISA, ITALY

There are millions of Italians, including members of his own coalition, who are ashamed of Berlusconi’s antics and are deeply concerned at his self-interested manipulations of the political and judicial systems. Berlusconi has become a dangerous model, yet to see him as the whole nation’s “autobiography” is inaccurate and offensive.
Maria Grazia Forza, ROME

I enjoyed the colorful profile of Berlusconi, and would agree that he has introduced a new style into Italian politics: he is quick-minded, creative, often unpredictable, impudent and tenacious. But I would point out that, pushy though he is, he knows how to make things happen — an uncommon virtue among politicians.
Sergio Orsolini, INVERIGO, ITALY