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The Japanese people should ask themselves why their national flag is being torched with greater frequency than the Stars and Stripes or the Union Jack [Nov. 29]. Like most Chinese whose grandparents bore the brunt of Japanese aggression, I am sickened by half-hearted and insincere "apologies" framed in the language of "regret" and compensation called "economic aid." I am also outraged by constant denials by the Japanese government on topics ranging from the biological-weapons program to comfort women, and I am disgusted by the deliberate omission or glorification of the war in Japanese history books. Therefore, every visit by Japanese leaders to the Yasukuni Shrine adds insult to the injuries of victims of Japanese militarism. The animosities would have been laid to rest had General Douglas MacArthur applied the denazification process used in Germany to Japan in 1945. We do not want the blood of the Japanese people. We only want them to recognize the blood of millions of innocent people they shed from 1931 to 1945. Is that so difficult?
Liew Kai Khiun
Singapore

For long periods of history, it was Japan that learned fundamental technological skills from China. During recent decades, it was Japan that taught China how to make technological advances. So now the two countries are even. Why should the Chinese hesitate to make a fresh start alongside the Japanese? Do they hate us? I don't care. Do they want to invade us? They can't. Isn't it time we put our emotions behind us and became good negotiators to get what both of us really want? I believe we can do it. Let's give it a try.
Takehiro Hashimoto
Tokyo

Your report on the friction between China and Japan may send the wrong message to the people of both countries. As a Japanese studying in Beijing, I have never encountered an anti-Japanese demonstration in the two years I have been here. Although there are some Chinese who are hostile to the Japanese, they are in the minority and regarded simply as impolite. In Japan, as far as I know, those who view China as an enemy are also in the minority. Nationalism in either country is not a threat to the Sino-Japanese relationship. The people of Japan and China must not be misguided by the media and should continue to deepen their understanding of one another.
Norihisa Kodama
Beijing

The political gap between China and Japan is getting wider. The developing economic power of China is viewed as a threat by Japan. Some of the young people quoted in your report believe that Japan has apologized enough to other countries for the suffering it inflicted during World War II. As a Japanese art student said, "The war is over. It has nothing to do with me." And yet, for the Japanese Prime Minister to regularly visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where many notorious war criminals are honored, is equivalent to a German Chancellor's paying homage at a memorial to Adolf Hitler. For the Japanese and the Chinese to respect one another is not to water down history.
Henry Kwok
Hong Kong

Better Safe than Sorry?
Re "A Shot Seen Round The World" [Nov. 29], about the videotape of a Marine apparently killing a wounded Iraqi in a Fallujah mosque: It's amazing that we don't hear more stories like that. I hold no ill will toward the Marine, because I cannot begin to fathom what he and others endure in Iraq every day—car bombs, roadside rockets, booby-trapped bodies and Iraqi civilians who act like your friend one day and shoot at you the next. To all the armchair generals who criticize what happened at the mosque, I say grab a gun and try living a Marine's life for a few weeks and see how you would react. The U.S. holds its soldiers to a higher level of moral behavior, but war is war and sometimes mistakes are made. If this Marine is found guilty of a crime, he will be held accountable. But where was all the Middle East outrage at the beheading and shooting of unarmed civilian hostages?
John Riley
Atlanta, U.S.

Many more Iraqis than Americans died in the battle for Fallujah. I am perplexed by the grave inequality of this war, which is partly reflected in the brutal killing of the wounded Iraqi. The video captured attitudes that have led to cruel mass murder in Iraq.
Humberto Sarkis Lara
Chihuahua, Mexico

It is admirable that U.S. troops have shown any restraint at all while fighting Iraqi terrorists. The fact that the military is ready to punish American soldiers who cross the line only reminds me that we still have the moral high ground. The behavior of any group will always be publicly defined by its worst members. In a good group, the other members will police and correct bad behavior. But among terrorists, every despicable act is applauded, rewarded and encouraged.
Pat Orsban
Fairview, North Carolina, U.S.

Stress Fractures
"Wounds That Don't Bleed" [Nov. 29], on the severe stress that is taking its toll on U.S. troops in Iraq, was an excellent article on an aspect of the war the daily media rarely cover. One of the most depressing situations facing our troops is that they can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. So many Americans are having their terms extended that a service member cannot count on any date to go home. That makes it difficult for even the most patriotic and committed troops to hang on.
James A. Embree
Sacramento, California, U.S.

The Federation of Iraq
Unless the U.S. is smart enough to make the right decision soon, it is going to have one Fallujah after another in Iraq for years to come [Nov. 22]. Sunnis and Baathists were able to control Iraq for decades under Saddam Hussein. They will fight forever, because the Shi'ite majority would defeat them in a general election. Why not create an Iraq federation of three states—Shi'ite in the south, Sunni in the middle and Kurd in the north? Each state would govern itself, and the Iraqi federal government would be in charge of the oil industry, defense, foreign diplomacy and smoothing over religious differences. What other scheme will get the U.S. out of the Iraqi quagmire anytime soon?
Martin Michaelis
Amherst, New Hampshire, U.S.

Bush Unbound
In his essay "why Bush has no fear" [Nov. 29], Charles Krauthammer argued that President George W. Bush has no need to be concerned about the political fortunes of an "heir" and so can do without popular approval of his actions. That is wildly incorrect. First, Krauthammer forgets the royalist tradition of the Republican Party and a certain politically prominent Floridian. Second, he forgets that Bush's political success will be judged in part on whether a Republican succeeds him. Krauthammer is correct that Bush is quite bold. But the President is by no stretch of the imagination reckless. Like Ronald Reagan, Bush simply possesses a more subtle and perceptive political mind than most of his adversaries or friends realize.
John Bleck
Richardson, Texas, U.S.

Bush has a mandate, and he should use it. I would like to take a percentage of the funds deducted for my Social Security tax and invest it in stocks to earn higher interest than is earned by funds in the traditional Social Security retirement program. Bush's plan to reform the tax code is another brilliant course of action. Think of how much money is wasted on the Internal Revenue Service, not to mention high-priced accountants.
Sam Hoff
Clarkston, Michigan, U.S.

What should scare everyone is Krauthammer's glib assurance of the rightness of Bush's mission to spread democracy in the Middle East and, presumably, everywhere else. When you've grown up with the idea that Western democracy is divinely favored, that confidence comes easily. When you haven't, and someone tries to change the way you do things, you may feel you're just being bullied. The result will be more terrorists, not fewer. And other Americans like Krauthammer will scratch their heads and wonder, Why do they hate us?
Robert Coulter
Gimli, Canada

After Arafat
No matter how much Yasser Arafat's death has affected the conflict in the Middle East [Nov. 22], isn't it somewhat disrespectful for the media to focus primarily on the benefit that his passing brings to the peace process? His death is a major event and heralds change, of course, but shouldn't we concentrate more on what Arafat gave to the world during his life? It is the respect that everyone deserves.
Michael Foster
Fareham, England

Although I strongly support the goal of peace in the Middle East, I disagree with certain ideas about how to achieve it. Are Palestinians such a threat that the Israelis have to build a wall around them? The wall not only violates human rights but also imposes on innocent people the same kind of restrictions that the Jews endured 60 years ago. I'm disappointed that Americans don't seem to care about the world outside their borders. People need to be more aware. Not only has the future of the U.S. been affected by the re-election of President Bush, but the whole world will have to bear the consequences.
Deborah Mathijsen
Ghent, Belgium

Bombs Along the Border?
Your notebook item "bordering on Nukes?" [Nov. 22] reported on al-Qaeda's possible plans to smuggle nuclear material into the U.S. from Mexico. Not to worry. We'll take them out at the border with one of those billion-dollar antimissile defense rockets recently installed in Alaska. They can't seem to hit many test targets, but surely one rocket could hit a terrorist driving a pickup across the border. Couldn't it?
John Reid
Portland, U.S.

Wouldn't the U.S. be a lot more secure if, instead of spending billions in Iraq, we used the money to secure our borders?
David Cohen
Wyckoff, New Jersey, U.S.

Hot Times in the Arctic
"Meltdown!" [Nov. 22], your article on the impact of global warming in the Arctic, was especially timely in the wake of the re-election of Bush, who so arrogantly dismissed the Kyoto Protocol. The U.S. is a nation of selfish materialists who refuse to be good stewards of the earth, and we deserve every abuse Mother Nature heaps upon us. It's just too bad the rest of the world has to suffer with us.
Cheryl Clark
Calera, Oklahoma, U.S.

Four More Years
How is it that a country with a free press, which saw multitudes of ideas contested and volleyed back and forth during the presidential campaign, could not make 51% of its voters see the simple truth that the incumbent has not made their world safer and does not deserve a second term as their President [Nov. 15]? How can people in nations with repressive governments continue to argue that a free media will disseminate truth and ensure the well-being of citizens after what just happened in the U.S.?
Chuah Siew Eng
Kuala Lumpur

Bush's actions in Iraq have proved Osama bin Laden's charge that the U.S. is trying to conquer Islamic lands. Bush's aggressive, unilateralist foreign policy and blinkered support for Israel have made him hated throughout the Middle East. His presidency has provided plenty of recruitment material for al-Qaeda. Four more years will doubtless provide more. Yes, bin Laden knew exactly what he was doing when he released that videotape. And his efforts paid off.
Lorna Forse Manchester, England

We are astonished, dear American friends, that you re-elected Bush. Such a leader wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell in most European countries. But the majority of Americans seem to trust a man who talks a lot about God, superficial moral values and protecting your beloved homeland. We hope that you will come to your senses during the next four years.
Tron Hummelvoll
Klofta, Norway

The priority for President Bush's second term should not be Iraq but the global war on terrorism. Any successful war on terrorism must start, however, with finding a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is at the epicenter of the wider war. Because of the consequences of America's biased support of Israel, the U.S. faces strong and increasing anti-American sentiment among Muslims. The U.S. needs to change the perception that the war on terrorism is a war on Islam. The U.S. needs to be a neutral arbitrator that tolerates, supports and loves Israelis and Palestinians equally and fairly. Only then can the war on terrorism be won.
Volak Sao
Phnom Penh Phil Knight: Just do It
Phil Knight, who is giving up his role as Nike's CEO while retaining the title of chairman [MILESTONES, Nov. 29], was a pioneer in the art of celebrity sports marketing, signing big stars to promote Nike products. He was selected by TIME eight years ago as one of America's 25 most influential people. Here's what we said about him then [June 17, 1996]:

"If Michael Jordan is God, then Phil Knight put him in heaven. By paying Jordan and other athletes millions to endorse his shoes, the chairman and CEO of Nike has helped turn them into household names ... [Knight] is the master of the mantra of the age ('Just Do It') and the proprietor of Nike's unmistakable swoosh, the icon that has turned the lowly sneaker into winged sandals ... Knight's stars are frontiersmen, exponents of an in-your-face brand of American optimism. And thus sports, as Knight has asserted, are 'the culture of the U.S.' By exporting the culture he has conquered the world for America. Knight, however, does not believe empires last forever ... The pursuit of cheap labor, for example, can redound on the mighty. But Knight also believes in the eternal return-that Nike's pre-eminence can be restored again and again. Geoff Hollister, a sports consultant who has worked with Knight for 25 years, advises rivals: 'Laugh at him once, and see how long it takes for him to catch up with you.' Swoosh."

Setting the Record Straight
Running Mates
The story on Taiwan's ex-President Lee Teng-hui [Nov. 29] misstated the number of candidates Lee's party was fielding in the legislative election. The correct number is 30, not 43.