Quotes of the Day

Detroit Goes Bust
Re "Broken City" [Aug. 5]: Detroit is more than bankrupt, it has been suffering from financial terminal illness for more than a decade. Having visited the once enchanting and flourishing metropolis in 1980s, I dread to look at the shabby street photos now. Can Detroit be revived? I sincerely hope so, albeit hoping against hope.
Faroud Rahman,
Karachi

There are certainly some good people working in public works all over the world, but the reality is a lot of them — if not most — are not productive and don't give a damn about the customers and their work; it's just a job. Now in Detroit, just like in Greece and other places, it's payback time, these public workers who are the biggest cause of this financial problem (together with corruption) must deal with it. They should have thought about this when sitting around for many years with their colleagues getting paid for doing nothing.
K. Winter,
Johannesburg

Desperate Measures
Re "Absence of Justice" [Aug. 5]: Deep in my heart, I strongly feel that certain Chinese authorities must have abused their power beyond recognition. Ji Zhongxing was said to have been so severely beaten by security personnel that he became paralyzed. As he could not find any proper channel to vent his anger and frustration, he resorted to attract attention to his predicament by setting off a bomb in Beijing's international airport. I am concerned about the many people who are mistreated and forced to keep a low profile, yet have nowhere to address their grievances. Beijing should look harder at human-rights issues and discipline officials in charge at all levels who go astray. The sooner, the better.
Luzou Phu,
Shanghai

Britain's Royal Baby
It was with delight and amusement that I read about the new Prince ["The Half-Blood Prince," Aug. 5]. Andrew Ferguson's Commentary showed that we should get away from the past. Centuries ago, kings were leading nations to war. Today we need leaders who run businesses to success and bring welfare. Those leaders need not be royal by birth. I wish, however, all the success for the newborn as a human being.
Eino Honkanen,
Fiskars, Finland

The royal birth gave great joy to millions of people worldwide, and the fact that the world's media give so much, sometimes tedious, attention to British royal affairs is not the fault of the royals. It is evidence of the intense interest they inspire. Thank God Britain has a popular, hardworking constitutional monarchy, and is still able to avoid much of the power-mad, self-seeking political thuggery and corruption now so prevalent in the U.S.
Derek Jones,
West Pennant Hills, Australia

American Dynasties
Re "Heirs to the Thrones" [Aug. 5]: Are dynasties on the way back? The record doesn't show that. I have lived through 12 presidencies and only four can be considered dynastic: 32nd Roosevelt, 35th Kennedy, 41st Bush and 43rd Bush. All the rest have risen from modest backgrounds. Clinton was not dynastic, although he may be trying to generate one.
Norman Bartlett,
Chelmsford, England

Sex and Politics
Re "Men Behaving Badly" [Aug. 5]: Those who run for public office should realize that the demands for integrity and self-control in sexual areas go with the job. A leader's personal life is important for his service in the public sphere. O.K., he can't be perfect, and if he falls he should "repent," but to serve acceptably he has to be free from crass immorality, true to his word and above corruption. If he is not faithful to the marriage vows he made to his wife, how can he be trusted with promises he makes to the voting public?
Clive Every-Clayton,
Kingussie, Scotland