In your cover story about the overfishing of tuna you give tips on what to do to help save the species [Nov. 9]. You forgot to mention the most effective way to protect the fish and the marine ecoystem: drop tuna from your diet; eat more vegetables.
Christiane Tupac-Yupanqui, SANDHAUSEN, GERMANY
Tuna has long been a standard item on my shopping list. Not anymore. A small contribution to conservation, perhaps, but one by one it may make a difference. Thank you TIME for regularly alerting readers to the planet's predicament.
Cilla Geldenhuys, WITSAND, SOUTH AFRICA
The View from Main Street
Re your story on Wall Street [Nov. 9]: Professionals who build bridges, buildings and even houses must be licensed, to encourage adherence to stringent technical, legal and ethical standards. Ignoring the rules can result in losing one's job. Why? Because if these things are constructed poorly, people will get hurt. Since Wall Street is in the business of "engineering" markets in order to make the greatest possible amount of money, why shouldn't they be licensed and held to similar standards?
Mark Revis, MORENO VALLEY, CALIF., U.S.
I was made redundant and now live on benefits as a result of the credit crunch brought about by our banking fraternity. Like many, I felt disappointed that, after being rescued with billions in taxpayers' money, they were still trying to give each other annual million-dollar bonuses. But then I felt better — I too was to receive a Christmas bonus: an extra £10 in my December unemployment benefits. I can now almost afford a haircut.
Joe Field, LONDON
Do we really have to show up on Wall Street with pitchforks and torches before its denizens get that we've had it with their lying, thieving games?
Wayne Laepple, NORTHUMBERLAND, PA., U.S.
Reagan and Diplomacy
Ratnesar is generous in crediting Reagan, as a champion of diplomacy [Nov. 9]. Other one-liners were not quite so diplomatic. In 1984, Reagan said, "We begin bombing in five minutes," over a microphone he thought had been turned off. For some, this supposed joke is an example of his hawkishness not only toward the former Soviet Union but also toward Grenada, Cuba and others. If this is what counts for "diplomacy," no wonder we're in such trouble.
Dean Wolfe, SURPRISE, ARIZ., U.S.
"Why the wall came down" focused strictly on the fall of the Wall, as though that were the fulcrum of the collapse of the Iron Curtain. Reagan's insistence on putting short-range nuclear weapons in Europe, against all foreign-affairs wisdom, broke the will of the Soviets for a renewed arms race and — more than anything else — brought down the Wall.
David Sweet, BUDA, TEXAS, U.S.
Ratnesar seems to downplay Reagan's effect on the fall of the Berlin Wall. Diplomacy has often combined an iron fist and a velvet glove. Reagan also appreciated the importance of opening minds, a warm heart and a silver tongue.
S MacDermott, TORQUAY, ENGLAND
Feeling Swiss
Andrew Marshall's article "Identity Crisis" was well written but shouldn't have ended on such an optimistic note [Nov. 9]. True, the writer's son and my sons (with Swiss and African backgrounds) will always remain half-and-half. But as I always tell my boys, excellence has no color. Only if they excel in their chosen fields, like Federer and Hingis, will they be seen as authentic Swiss. And that's when Switzerland would probably celebrate.
Taiwo Danjuma, EGERKINGEN, SWITZERLAND