Quotes of the Day

Artists in Abundance
I am very disappointed that Hannah Beech's cover article about "Asia's Happy Artists" featured artists only from China, India and Vietnam, as if Asian art consists of works only from those countries [Nov. 12]. What about the brilliant, hot artists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore who are enjoying prominence in major auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's? They are just as "politically aware," "socially conscious" and "boldly experimental" and are also "commanding record prices for their work."
Manuel Faustino,
Makati City, the Philippines

Marital Misery
"The Honeymoon's Over" reported on the 30,000 or more Indian women who have been abandoned by émigré husbands [Nov. 5]. But it takes two to tango, and not every Indian bride is innocent or naive. There are cases of Indian husbands becoming victims at the hands of their self-centered, manipulative brides. Some women enter into overseas marriages when they have a boyfriend living in the foreign country of their destination. They use the unsuspecting husbands as a way to join these boyfriends. Or they use the husband for professional advancement or to transplant their siblings and parents from India. And when marriages go bad, the legal systems in most countries favor women, while men get a raw deal.
Sriram Srinivasan,
Bangalore, India

An Expat's Lament
As a Burmese citizen living abroad, I have been following the events in my native country closely [Oct. 22]. In 1988 I personally experienced the brutality of the government. It is appalling what a government can do to its own people. But the '88 uprising was quickly forgotten by the international community. I am again worried that Burma's problems will be soon forgotten. I was not there in person this time, but the images of the monks and nuns demonstrating on the streets of Rangoon made me cry. Religion is all that the Burmese have had since the military came to power in 1962. And being a Buddhist, I consider the government's mistreatment of the monks beyond disgusting.
Ma Hnin Thurein,
Almería, Spain

Self-Inflicted Wounds
In the past several months, the west has so antagonized Russian President Vladimir Putin that it has pushed him into the arms of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [Oct. 29]. The West is responsible for cementing the two formerly less-than-cordial nations. The worst nightmare would be if Russia goes all out to help Iran secure an arsenal of nuclear weapons. That would be a global debacle.
Zi-zenn Chen,
Sydney

The Iranian problem was caused by the American invasion of Iraq. The U.S. thereby eliminated Iran's greatest enemy and destabilized the region, giving Iran a free hand to cause trouble in the Middle East. I believe Arnold J. Toynbee warned that by threatening a people, you cause them to unite and become stronger.
Cornelis Vrolijk,
The Hague

China's Ring Cycle
The Kunqu opera The Peony Pavilion is one of the greatest masterpieces of all time [Nov. 5]. What a curiously mistaken notion that "witnesses to such a grandiose relic should worry less about falling asleep and more about slipping into a coma." I was lucky enough to see Chen Shi-Zheng's full 19-hour production and Pai Hsien-Yung's nine-hour production of the opera. Each time, when the performance ended, I wanted it to start all over again. Such is the power, beauty and fascination of Kunqu opera, even to a Westerner. The consummate skill required of the performers transcends time and space. Like Shakespeare, Kunqu might inspire various forms of renewal. But part of the beauty of such perfect works of art lies in their integrity, which we can still feel and be moved by centuries after they were created. Coming generations should not be robbed of the incomparable experience of classical Kunqu, even as the art form evolves.
Sally Beardsley,
Callian, France

No Rest for Eco-Heroes
It's great that Toyota's Prius design appeared in TIME's "Heroes of the Environment" issue [Oct. 29]. I have appreciated Toyota's manufacturing vision ever since they launched a low-emission car a decade ago. The gasoline-electric hybrid Prius is both a feat of excellent marketing and technology. But Toyota ought to do more and more in combating the dangers of the greenhouse effect. The time has come for them to install this hybrid system in all their cars, and for other manufacturers to follow suit.
Yoshitsugu Kato,
Gifu, Japan