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When Trudeau took office, the time was ripe for a new breed of leader with bold ideas. Trudeau dreamed of a Canada that was not a country of two solitudes but rather a nation of pluralism. The vastness of the land was surpassed only by the vastness of his dream. His detractors just strengthened his resolve to forge ahead. Following one's dreams means risking failure. But where would the world be without its dreamers? STEPHEN ST. DENIS Ottawa
Farewell to a Friend
With Trudeau's death, immigrants from Asian and African countries have lost a great mentor and savior [EULOGY, Oct. 9]. Many downtrodden people from these countries found a refuge in Canada, owing to Trudeau's patronage. He opened the door to immigrants and paved the way for changing the demographic landscape of Canada. His vision of a just society of equality for all human beings, irrespective of color and creed, is praiseworthy. He advocated bilingualism and saved Canada from bifurcation. He was a great teacher, an intellectual, adventurer, journalist, idealist and leader of international stature. Many of us immigrants feel orphaned by his sad demise. MOHAMMAD RAFIQULLAH Mississauga, Ont.
Free Music on the Net
I read about all the fuss that Napster, the music-file-sharing program, was causing [TECHNOLOGY, Oct. 2], so I decided to download it and try it out myself. A lot of people probably hadn't heard of Napster before the filing of the lawsuit charging that the software facilitates the theft of intellectual property. I believe that many musical artists get paid way too much for what they do. "Pretty boy" band members get rich for just looking good, while teachers and other valued professionals earn peanuts. Maybe it's time the popular "artists" got paid what they truly deserve! DAVID SCOTT Singapore
Taking somebody else's intellectual property is illegal, but that is what Shawn Fanning, the founder of Napster, is doing. Yet he gets the cover of TIME. Are you setting up Fanning and Napster for the inevitable fall? OSAGIE IMA-ANDREWS Lagos
I love Napster. I may never have to buy another CD. The record companies need to find a new business model. In the past consumers were stuck with buying CDs, and now the record companies are stuck with Napster. JULIAN TOL Amsterdam
Showdown in Yugoslavia
All of a sudden the people of Serbia are presented as wanting democracy [WORLD, Oct. 9], but don't forget that they supported Milosevic for 13 years. ELVIS TALIC Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Voucher Debate
Your report on school vouchers that use tax dollars to help parents send their kids to private schools [EDUCATION, Oct. 9] quoted a school-privatization expert who said the differences in test scores between students who used vouchers and others are so small that people are "arguing based on personal beliefs, not evidence." Far from being inconclusive, the evidence from four different randomized field trials of school vouchers shows that African-American voucher students outperform their peers on standardized tests by an average of 6 to 7 percentile points after one to two years--a larger benefit than reducing class size. Vouchers work. GEORGE A. CLOWES, MANAGING EDITOR School Reform News Chicago
A Simple Plan