Introducing Sarah Palin

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McCain's Choice
I admire Joe Klein's attempt to find an honest reason for McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his Vice President, such as his "rebelliousness" or his devotion to the issue of abortion [Sept. 15]. However, Palin was chosen for only one reason: to get votes. McCain seems to think that Hillary Clinton supporters will support Palin's ultraconservative agenda just because of her gender. By choosing Palin over a more experienced or knowledgeable candidate, he has made it clear that he cares only about winning the election and does not have the best interests of the country in mind.
Elina El-Badry, GAITHERSBURG, MD., U.S.

Klein's column concentrated on Palin as shoring up McCain's right-wing supporters. He missed a key point. She is a blue-collar mom, with a blue-collar hairdo, a blue-collar husband and a blue-collar family. That will have tremendous appeal to blue-collar voters. Jesse Ventura won this segment over when he became Governor of Minnesota, with many voters registering on election day. Attacking McCain for selecting Palin might turn out these voters on election day — for the Republicans.
Don Debelak, MOUNDS VIEW, MINN., U.S.

Green Gas
I was surprised to read Bryan Walsh's Going Green [Sept. 15]. Composting? Come on, we can do better than that. Sewage sludge, food waste, manure and slaughterhouse waste can all be turned into biogas. This can be upgraded, distributed through existing natural-gas networks and used as vehicle fuel. This is being done today, at least here in Europe. We have cars, buses and trains running on biogas. This is the future, and also a way of reducing dependence on foreign oil. Composting isn't, so why don't you write about biogas instead?
Kristian Ekeroth, STOCKHOLM

A South African Success Story
Alex Perry's article refers to Sasol's "dirty little secret", supposedly that Sasol used a process also used by Nazi Germany [Sept. 15]. The founder of Sasol was my brother, the late Etienne Rousseau, a chemical engineer. In 1990 he described to me how he had used a combination of the Fischer-Tropsch and the complementary American Kellogg process, not the German process only. Moreover it is common knowledge that after World War II the U.S. used captured German scientists to work on synthetic fuels. This was a U.S. Bureau of Mining project instigated by the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act. Not many people would call the U.S. a Nazi country.
Leon Rousseau, JEFFREY'S BAY, SOUTH AFRICA

I am an ordinary South African and I am amazed that you publish such disparaging rubbish about Sasol. Perry's pernicious tone is an attempt to blacken Sasol's achievements. Sasol technology is being used in several countries around the world because it is the most advanced. Sasol gasoline and diesel has never been produced in sufficient quantity to prop up any government. Contrary to Perry's comments, CTL and GTL fuels are likely to play a major role in the future. This is why so many different countries are commissioning plants to produce them. Why didn't Perry look a little deeper into what Sasol is doing to reduce its carbon footprint instead of just bad-mouthing its efforts? It is public knowledge that Sasol is devoting considerable resources and funds to develop new and noncarbon energy solutions.
Max Braun, SOMERSET, SOUTH AFRICA

It is interesting to note how successful Sasol has been, thanks to the South African taxpayer who has heavily subsidized Sasol over many years and under very questionable circumstances [Sept. 15]. As Sasol globalizes its business operations, it will be interesting to see how it deals with its most vital challenges: the protection of its intellectual property, increasing political demands at home to contribute much more substantially to the economy of South Africa, and the worsening skills shortage in its core operations. Instead of claiming transformation by counting how many black directors sit on its board, or how many discounted shares it has sold to the so-called strategic investors, Sasol will have to contribute to the transformation agenda of South Africa.
Tshilidzi Marwala, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

Your report on Sasol got me thinking about racism and democracy. Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden as running mate shows wisdom in balancing his own weaknesses (political and governing experience and foreign policy). Aging and angry John McCain picks young Sarah Palin, ambitious but inexperienced and not remotely qualified for a position that demands brave yet sensible world leadership. In South Africa, our precious 15-year-old democracy is dominated by a single party that has chosen a leader with no governing track record, intent on quashing a state case against him for fraud. This same government, notes Perry's report, owns 24% of Sasol, a cutting-edge coal-to-liquid oil company started by the former "white supremacist" leaders and now used by the incumbents to "dilute white domination of the economy." Sasol's board boasts a black majority; all but one of its executives are black and a recent $3 billion share release was confined to "employees, black South Africans and other previously disadvantaged groups." Racist? Democratic? Whatever. So long as Sasol continues to be well run and responsibly developed, and helps save South Africa from becoming another Zimbabwe-like wreck, I force myself to accept that "black domination" has replaced "white supremacy." And I envy Americans their choices. Politics is important: it's up to voters.
Wendy Toerien, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Victims of War
The picture of the two wounded Afghani children that accompanied the article "Collateral Tragedies" literally took my breath away — like a kick to the chest [Sept. 15]. I wonder if those in favor of our military actions could look into these children's eyes and explain to them why America is right to do this to them and their families. All the arguments in the world can never justify the fear and pain reflected in those children's faces.
Kelly Czermerys, HUNTER, N.Y., U.S.