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TIME's story on CEO Bill Ford's plans for overhauling Ford Motor Co. and taking on Toyota prompted praise from Ford fans and doubt from those who find foreign competitors' cars more reliable

In this age of globalization, in which free trade gives the consumer the option to buy the best value in the world marketplace, consumers should give extra points to Ford Motor Co. when purchasing a car [Feb. 6]. Here's an American company that created the middle class in the U.S. and built tanks and planes that helped us win World War II. Ford should be given every purchase consideration for its vehicles. After reading your article, I feel like waving the flag for Bill Ford.
Jack Weber
Oxnard, California, U.S.

The quality of Ford's products must be improved. It's not rocket science. Build safe and sturdy cars that last, and they will sell. Unfortunately, too many consumers feel abandoned by North American car manufacturers when it comes to quality, and they are expressing that feeling by spending their hard-earned dollars elsewhere.
Bob Doucett
Dartmouth, Canada

Your story should have done more to address product reliability. The automotive business is not just about styling. Doesn't Ford realize that the American consumer really does care about dependability? I thought the styling and comfort of my Ford Explorer were far superior to those of comparable imported SUVs. But I quickly tired of taking it back to the dealer every few months for hundreds of dollars' worth of repairs. That's why I traded it in for a Toyota 4Runner, which has been problem-free so far. Listen up, Ford!
Dennis L. Barton
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.

As someone whose father has worked in a Ford plant for more than 25 years, I am truly disappointed by Ford's slash-and-burn plans to lay off as many as 30,000 employees. It's always the blue-collar workers who are first deemed expendable. But what Ford really needs to take a look at is its designs. My family has owned nothing but Ford and Lincoln vehicles since my father began working at Ford, but now even loyal consumers are looking elsewhere.
Megan Norris
Chicago

The Trouble with Elections
In "Democracy, the Morning After," columnist Joe Klein criticized President George W. Bush's policy of promoting democracy in the Middle East [Feb. 6], stating, "From Afghanistan to Egypt, not one country that has had an election in the past year has emerged more stable as a result of the experience." But what is the alternative? Democracy is surely an achievement, and until someone has a better plan for Iraq, I will continue to back Bush's.
Tim Savisky
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Klein's column was right on the mark. It is amazing to me, a "Reagan Democrat," how quickly the U.S. electorate could forget President Bush's campaign positions that criticized the Clinton Administration's policy of "nation building." Isn't that precisely what Bush has us doing in Afghanistan and Iraq? As Klein said, democracy "demands that people take charge of their lives and make informed decisions." I hope Americans make informed decisions in the next elections and hold our public officials accountable for what they say. We need to repair our image as a superpower and calm the global hornet's nest this Administration and congressional leadership have stirred up.
Richard Zack
New Providence, New Jersey, U.S.

Upset Victory
After the militant organization Hamas won a clear majority of the seats in the Palestinian parliament [Feb. 6], its critics immediately denounced the election results. The Israeli Cabinet said it will not negotiate with a Palestinian administration that calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. If Israel wants peace, it and the world at large should accept the election results. Hamas won on not only its political agenda but also its social and welfare programs. It is counterproductive and unrealistic for the U.S. not to continue financial assistance to the Palestinians. Hamas members like Omar Hamayel, the new, hardworking mayor of the West Bank town of al-Bireh, will bring energy and honesty to the job of governing the Palestinians. Wouldn't the Bush Administration want to see its aid spent on education, health and other sensible human issues rather than have it end up in the hands of corrupt leaders?
Toufic H. Barakeh
Surbiton, England

As if the state of Israel didn't have enough to confront, it now faces having to deal with the terrorist organization Hamas. The group has been condemned for its terrorist acts by the U.S., Canada and the European Union, and it remains to be seen if terrorists can become legislators. A government controlled by Hamas, with its oft-stated aim of eliminating the state of Israel, does not bode well for the peace process.
Bert Raphael
Chairman, Canadian Lawyers and Jurists for World Jewry
Toronto

Critics argue that Hamas' victory is a sign of surging hard-line extremism in the entire Muslim world. But Hamas did not win because the people wanted militants to rule their country. The Palestinians voted against the corruption and inefficiency of the previous Fatah regime. But now Hamas has to grow up and deliver on its promises. It is no longer the opposition. It will have to take full responsibility for any failures in the future. Hamas has to start by improving and strengthening the democratic institutions in its area. It can win the support of the world by accepting Israel and stopping militant activities. At the same time, Israel and the West should not boycott Hamas but engage the group in negotiations. That could be a turning point.
Majid Rauf
Lahore

Surely most Americans can't fail to see the hypocrisy in the U.S. reaction to the election of Hamas as the legitimate Palestinian government. The Bush Administration is always on a soapbox claiming it fights for democracy, but when a free and democratic election process results in the victory of a group the Administration doesn't like, suddenly it is a different story. The U.S. needs to understand that the world doesn't want it as a global policeman and certainly not George W. Bush as global shoot-'em-up sheriff.
Victor Marshall
Erskineville, Australia

Gay Virtues
Critic Richard Corliss's piece "How the West Was Won Over" described the critical acclaim received by the movie Brokeback Mountain [Jan. 30]. I only wish we could hear someone at the Academy Awards announce, "The Oscar goes to Brokeback Mountain for showing how virility, strong-mindedness and self-confidence are not inconsistent with being gay, and for enabling us to understand how truth, love and freedom are the only ideals anyone ought to aspire to."
Davide Locuratolo
Potenza, Italy

The Powers That Will Be
The debate at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, over whether India or China will be the dominant economic power in 2050 [Feb. 6] omitted one factor: democracy. Does anyone really think that the world's largest economy could be managed by the Chinese Communist Party? The creativity of democracy, whether it is in India or the U.S., will be what leads the way.
Richard Gordon
Peebles, Scotland

The west seems to have finally acknowledged the growing influence of India and China as major global economic powers. Both nations, however, are marred by real problems that need solutions. There are tragic undercurrents caused mainly by lack of infrastructure, rampant corruption and the absence of realistic programs to combat poverty in urban and rural areas. Unless these two future superpowers make efforts to bring all social classes under their umbrella of success, we cannot be euphoric over their one-dimensional growth.
Arvind K. Pandey
Allahabad, India

Speaking for the Silent
In 1985 Elie Wiesel [INTERVIEW, Feb. 6] received the Congressional Gold Medal from Ronald Reagan "in recognition of his ... contributions to world literature and human rights." In describing Wiesel's achievements, TIME wrote of his witnessing the Holocaust and his memoir Night, currently a selection of Oprah's Book Club. Here is an excerpt from that article [March 18, 1985]:

"[In 1958] Night appeared in France with an introduction by [French novelist François] Mauriac. The little book set the Wiesel style: austere, tense phrases articulating the unspeakable—the murder and torture of the innocent, the martyrdom of faith itself as a child watches the hanging of another child: 'Where is God? Where is he? ... And I heard a voice within me answer: Where is he? Here he is—he is hanging here on this gallows.' Some 20 American publishers rejected Night. 'The Holocaust was not something people wanted to know about in those days,' the author remembers. 'The diary of Anne Frank was about as far as anyone wanted to venture into the dark.' Night, finally published in the U.S. in 1960, drew them far deeper, into an abyss that was appalling to contemplate and impossible to ignore. It was as if a thousand tongues had suddenly become unstuck ... It was Wiesel who brought the term Holocaust out of scholarly usage into common parlance."