THE FLU HUNTERS

Your excellent detective story on the emergence of avian flu [March 16] was an important reminder that the most threatening bioterrorist may not be a belligerent Iraqi, a lunatic cult or a white-supremacist group but nature itself. Without warning and with little provocation, nature can deploy an army of rats and mice and an air force of birds and stealthy bats to deliver a swarm of deadly new viruses. All we can do is react to the first casualties of such an attack.
EDWARD MCSWEEGAN
Crofton, Md.

Rather than immunize humans with entirely new vaccines, which are difficult to manufacture and whose use would be economically feasible only in the developed world, it may be more cost-effective to immunize poultry and swine against avian and swine (and possibly human) H and N flu antigens to eliminate the reservoirs for antigenic reassortment and thus 1918-type epidemics.
ROY CURTISS III, Professor of Biology
Washington University
St. Louis, Mo.

JUDGING THE JUDGE

Your story on Federal Judge Norma Holloway Johnson, who will play a key role in shaping Kenneth Starr's investigation [March 16], said she "has acquired a reputation for tilting strongly in favor of the government." That statement is questionable, if not outright nonsense. You overlooked a volatile case, Murphy v. National Security Agency, in which Judge Johnson courageously ruled against the government and in my favor. Her decision had a wide-ranging impact on the intelligence community. Judge Johnson enlightened NSA's personnel to the fact that they were not exempt from the law and that the information placed in my personal security file, and in those of all NSA employees, had to be accurate, complete, timely and relevant in accordance with the Privacy Act. The public can rest assured that any ruling by Judge Johnson in Starr's investigation will again reflect the dictates of law, truth and fairness.
ALBERT I. MURPHY
Beltsville, Md.

TOO MUCH TOLERATION TODAY

I would expect those who approve of Bill Clinton's behavior [March 16] to applaud when their spouse cheats on them and their business partners or children lie to them.
JANE MAUREEN MUEHLUM
Eltville am Rhein, Germany

It is dangerous if revelations about the President of the U.S. leaked from his deposition are seen as of no importance. We already tolerate too much today. There are no more taboos. Everything seems possible as long as it does not endanger our own wealth.
LADISLAUS E. BATTHYANY
London

Italian politicians are cunning enough to have all the money and women they want. There's no punishment for that in our country.
FEDERICO PASQUARE
Milan

Will Americans destroy Clinton just because he has a roving eye? As long as he is doing a great job as President, what he does in bed should be the concern of no one except Hillary.
KESHAV B. KALE
Pune, India

It is very difficult to accept the idea that the U.S. President has done improper things. Important people, especially if they are good-looking, tend to be treated as sex symbols.
CLOVIS CAVALCANTI
Olinda, Brazil

MR. GATES GOES TO WASHINGTON

In his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee looking into antitrust matters [March 16], Bill Gates said, "At the end of the day, there's only one question: Are we allowed to innovate?" But that is not the issue. It is whether he will sell a product that allows others to innovate and compete in the marketplace. If IBM had used tactics similar to those of Gates' Microsoft in negotiating the design of DOS with Gates & Co., the history of the personal-computer industry would have been significantly different. Gates needs to be reminded of this.
ROGER J. PATTERSON
Muscat, Oman

At the Senate hearing, Gates was badgered to answer loaded questions and respond to competitors' envy-ridden charges of unfairness while he could have been doing what he does better than anyone--creating wealth. If Americans cannot like a brilliant man who has increased the standard of living, created an industry, and is a legitimate hero to people all over the world (a living embodiment of the American Dream), I cannot imagine whom they would like. Gates is Atlas holding the economy on his shoulders. He could simply shrug.
AMESH ADALJA
Butler, Pa.

Gates' problems go beyond antitrust action. He has forgotten the true needs of his customers. Time and again, Microsoft (and many other software companies, for that matter) pushes products aimed not at serving the customers better but at maximizing earnings. New versions of software become weapons of war for gaining market share, instead of friendly tools for the users. Those of us who are company information-technology managers find ourselves having to deal with bugs in hastily manufactured products, the cost of training and retraining and the all too frequent need to buy updates of the same product. That makes bosses view tech managers as big spenders. How long can this go on?
CY C. CHEN
Taipei

America has a rare and precious asset in Gates. He is a man whose work improves people's lives, making our working hours more productive and more fun. The standardization of software around Windows has stabilized and improved the whole software industry. Gates must bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign exchange to America each year. If he makes billions as a result, good luck to him. Will bringing down Microsoft and Gates benefit America? It may soothe the envy of his competitors, but it won't be of long-term benefit to the world. America should celebrate him, not persecute him.
BARBARA BANNISTER
KwaZulu, South Africa

My jaw dropped as I read Gates' "diary," surely the worst prose ever showcased in a widely circulated publication. Is it possible? Could the captain of global industry be little more than an idiot savant?
BEN MADDEN
Los Angeles

COULD DIANA HAVE BEEN SAVED?

Perhaps Diana's tragic death bears closer examination than some of your readers' letters would suggest [March 16]. As a cardiac surgeon, I would think that the way Diana was cared for should be scrutinized, especially if she was alive for over an hour after the accident and did not suffer a head injury. There are some injuries where immediate surgery is an essential part of the process of resuscitation. If patients with injuries such as those Diana suffered were cared for in the same way she was, all would die, when rapid surgery could save some of these victims. I shall always have a sense of unease that Diana could have been saved. I hope the French medical community will again look at its protocols for trauma management, which seem at some variance with those that have shown success in other countries.
RUSSELL MILLNER, M.D.
Blackpool, England

KOSOVO AS HALLOWED GROUND

As Rome is to a Catholic, Jerusalem to a Jew and Mecca to a Muslim, Kosovo is to a Serb [March 16]. This hallowed ground is seen as the cradle of Serbia, and Albanians who came from Albania and settled there have no claim on it. The outside powers should recognize the fact and stop helping Albanians, unless their aim is the final destruction of Serbia.
MIODRAG J. VUKOVIC
London

ANOTHER MAKEOVER FOR PINOCHET

Making Augusto Pinochet Ugarte a member of Chile's Senate [March 16] is a cheap price to pay for the future complete normalization of Chilean democracy. In 1970 Salvador Allende was elected President, not by the people, but by the Senate. Allende was a Marxist-Leninist, but presumably he believed that democracy was the preferred means for political and social change. Still, under Allende, there were severe violations of human rights, and political dissidents were put in jail simply for speaking the truth. Very few have the moral right to judge the Chilean transition process, and some observers are making inferences that have no basis in fact. For the majority, Pinochet is the past, and people don't really care whether he is the commander in chief or a Senator. He only has a meaning for the extreme right and left. We have complete confidence in our country, government and armed forces.
J.F. CONCHA
Santiago

There are still people who can recognize an unquestionable and remarkable leader like Pinochet, who freed Chile from the oppressive arms of communism and socialism. Here is a leader who prevented the killing of people whose only crime was working hard, a leader who brought back peace and stability to a desperate society, a leader who masterminded the remarkable recovery of an economy that most specialists saw as completely paralyzed and ruined.
MARCO MONTALBETTI
Santiago

NOT JUST HANGING ABOUT

Your article on the political situation in Germany [March 16] referred to Gerhard Schroder, the man who would like to be the next Helmut Kohl, as "Germany's Chancellor-in-waiting." But you have incorrectly employed the expression in-waiting, which is properly used in the British royal household where the person-in-waiting is the one who is actually on duty or on call. A lady-in-waiting is not some poor woman hanging about hoping sometime to be deemed a lady. As I am in my 80th year, no doubt you may prefer me to sign as "Corpse-in-Waiting," but I am happy to say this would be equally incorrect.
ARCHIBALD BRYDE
Laufenburg, Germany

CHINA'S NEW BROOM

You have predicted quite accurately the challenges faced by Zhu Rongji in the years ahead [March 16] as China's new Premier. But Zhu's greatest strength is also his weakness. He has Western fans who admire his grasp of detail, but he has only narrow support in China's bureaucracy. Leftists do not like his familiarity with market economics. Conservatives accuse him of neglecting inland provinces, and the Young Turks of Beijing are jealous of his rapid rise. All these factors make Zhu more acceptable to President and party leader Jiang Zemin. Also, one needs to consider what will happen to those who push reforms faster than the party elders want. Two very powerful leaders were removed from the scene in the past 10 years because they moved too quickly to enact reforms.
MOHSIN A. VAHIDY
Karachi