Letters

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Saving the Big Cats
I applaud TIME for its cover story [Aug. 23] on the vulnerable status of big cats (lions, tigers, snow leopards, cheetahs and others). Human overpopulation, hunting, poverty and ignorance—along with the horrendous practice of buying and selling animal parts—have proved to be obstacles too tough to overcome, even for creatures as magnificent as the big cats you pictured. Every solution mentioned by the scientists and conservationists is worth trying. We owe these animals our best efforts.
Gillian Beach Cieri
West Palm Beach, U.S.

Big cats and other wild species are called predators, while man is politely referred to as just a primate. Judging from the meat consumption at our local butcher shop in a suburb of New Delhi, I estimate that we humans slaughter more than 1 million chickens a day (a conservative estimate). India is not a rich country and has a large vegetarian population, but we slaughter a large number of other animals. Yes, it is not only the big cats but many other living creatures that are in danger of extinction. Man is the cruelest predator of all.
Som Sharma
Gurgaon, India

It must be a great consolation to the family of the victim killed by a mountain lion in California to know that the death was simply a result of "being in the wrong place at the wrong time." Best of all, by being some cat's dinner, the victim contributed to its survival. Any man-eating animal is our natural enemy. Are we willing to sacrifice human lives to prevent its extinction?
Richard Packham
Roseburg, U.S.

Although your article correctly pointed to the booming human population and a failure to safeguard big cats in wildlife preserves as reasons for the cats' declining numbers, it neatly avoided a matter-of-fact discussion of the only solution that is not a mere stopgap: finding a way to curb the world's rapidly spiraling population-growth rate. Until we are able to control human overpopulation, any species that competes with Homo sapiens for space and food is doomed.
Karla Kellenberger
Stow, U.S.

Your report suggested that trophy hunting of lions and tigers might be an approach to conserving these species. The dwindling populations of big cats won't be saved by allowing trophy hunters to kill the animals. Trophy hunting not only removes the biggest and most genetically fit animals but also helps create markets for big-cat parts—undermining the long-term conservation of increasingly isolated populations. Conserving big cats is a culturally and socially complex issue but not so complicated that the direct killing of the fittest animals can turn out to be helpful.
Wayne Pacelle
President
Humane Society of the U.S.
Washington, U.S.

It was refreshing to see a conservation problem on the cover, rather than war or politics, subjects that seem to dominate the headlines these days. I am an avid outdoorsman and work outside most of the time, but I had never in my 34 years seen a cougar—until last week. Driving to work one morning, I saw a big cougar leap out in front of my car, and in three bounds it was across the road and into a farmer's field. I have never seen a more graceful animal. That cougar is living within a stone's throw of farmhouses, and I hope it stays on its natural diet of deer meat. After reading your article on big cats, I am convinced that with a little patience we can both live in this world together.
Dean Price
Prince George, Canada

Bench the Bureaucrats!
Thanks to Alex Perry for his essay "An Eternally Faltering Flame," about how India performs badly at the Olympic Games [Aug. 23]. It couldn't be more timely. Innumerable Olympics have come and gone, but India remains the same as ever, with a poor showing at winning medals. The important thing is not to win, however, but to take part. The essential thing is not to win but to compete well.
Jagdeep Singh
Jakarta

So what if India had won only 16 Olympic medals up until this year's Games? Is another country better than ours because it dedicates a whole group of young people to sports at a tender age? Is that the true Olympic spirit? We have seen youngsters whose lives are manipulated and controlled with one aim: to win at any cost. Our athletes have proved they have the Olympic spirit. I wish Perry had investigated how government officials and bureaucracy have marred the true spirit of Indian sports.
Neeta Kolhatkar
Bombay

There is a link between the number of Olympic medals won and the state of the economy of a country. India is still a poor nation, despite claims made by many. Sport in India is "managed" by the government, and very halfheartedly at that. The politicians at the top truly run things. There are hardly any private sponsors. Politicians use sports for their own ends. At present there is no consistent public support for Indian sports and no hope for a large number of medals. This has to wait for another generation and more economic progress.
Ullal V. Nayak
Bangalore, India

Tax-Dodging Dynamos
Your article about the looming economic crisis and widespread corruption in the Philippines hardly scratched the surface [Aug. 23]. With decentralization introduced in 1992, little fiefdoms—that is, local governments—were granted exclusive taxing powers, such as collecting fees for local licenses, limited franchise and business imposts and real-property taxes. In the case of property taxes, local government officials can make a killing by simply not collecting in exchange for payoffs. As your report noted, "At least 30% of the Philippines' potential tax take is lost to cheats and government corruption each year." And the corporations thumb their noses by ignoring our demands for them to pay their taxes.
Sonny Pulgar
Calauag, the Philippines

Hail to the Chef
Joel Stein's appreciation of Julia Child, "Living Through Better Cooking," was right on the mark [Aug. 23]. I owe my passion for cooking in large part to this remarkable woman. I watched her regularly throughout her long television career, and I still refer to several of her books. My favorite is her masterpiece, The Way to Cook. At first, the definite article in the title seemed a bit presumptuous, but it was entirely appropriate. Millions draw on Child's expertise to prepare a better meal, a fitting tribute to a real national treasure and a friend we all shall miss.
John Howard
Ventura, U.S.

George Bernard Shaw once observed that "There is no love sincerer than the love of food." A member of the Bread Bakers Guild, Julia Child shared with the public the secrets of great cooking, encouraging us to master the fundamentals and use the best ingredients. We take solace in the fact that Child's last meal was a bowl of French onion soup—which of course includes a toasted baguette slice. We recall fondly her closing line at the end of every show: "Bon appétit."
Gina Piccolino
Executive Director
Bread Bakers Guild of America
North Versailles, U.S.

Me-First Motoring
I can relate to your cover story on Asia's "Highways to Hell" [Aug. 9]. I have lived in Singapore my entire life, and I am sometimes appalled by and ashamed of the actions of fellow drivers. Singapore has its share of aggressive, me-first motorists, yet we have the lowest number of traffic deaths among the major Asian countries, as reflected in the chart with your article. Why is this so? Singapore's small land area allows efficient administration, and its hefty traffic fines and extensive use of cameras to catch speeders act as deterrents to fast driving. An ideal traffic environment, however, is one that relies mainly on the conscientiousness of the drivers, as opposed to one that is governed by deterrents. Creating a caring and conscientious society of road users will require dedication and persistence.
Joel Kan
Singapore

Having relocated from the relatively orderly city of Bombay to the chaotic city of Bangalore, I feel that one of the main reasons for traffic disorder is the lack of proper public transport in Bangalore. It is something like the difference between New York City (with its effective mass-transit system) and Los Angeles. I remember waiting for a long time for buses in suburban California. Lack of public transport increases the number of vehicles on the roads, and that in turn reduces the amount of public transport. It is a vicious circle. Bangalore traffic is so bad that a chicken dare not cross the road.
Palahalli R. Vishwanath
Bangalore, India

Finally you have written about the mad auto carnage in Asia. I lived in Korea for three years, and I thought the drivers there were horrible compared with those of the U.S., my home country. Then I moved to Japan and wrecked three cars in as many years. Before coming to Asia, I hadn't been involved in any kind of traffic accident in more than a decade. Two of the three somewhat serious fender benders I had in Japan were caused by another driver pulling out in front of me when I was just a few meters away. Perhaps Asians aren't quite so patient as many Americans once thought!
John Pollard
Fukuoka, Japan

Daredevil Fire Fighter
As our Milestone on Paul (Red) Adair noted [Aug. 23], the fire fighter was unequaled in his specialty of extinguishing dangerous oil-field conflagrations. More than 40 years ago, as a huge fire burned in the French Sahara, we described Adair's expertise [Dec. 15, 1961]:

"[The fire in the] recently discovered Gassi Touil natural-gas field ... would, if it went unchecked, burn for the next century ... To avert this economic tragedy, the field's owners ... have called in daredevil Texan Paul Adair ... Flame-haired "Red" Adair learned his rare trade in 16 years with tough old Myron Kinley, dean emeritus of oil fire fights [and has] set up his own company ... Already this year, the burly Adair and his two apprentices ... have tamed 50 wells in Bahrain, Brazil, Bolivia, Guatemala, Venezuela, Canada and the U.S. With an affluence known to no other firemen, Adair and his boys race to U.S. oil-field fires in flame-red Lincoln Continentals [and] fly in jet comfort to more distant alarms ... For all his flamboyance—he indulges his fondness for red in his coveralls, safety helmets, office rug and secretary's hair—Adair is methodical about his business, [and] carefully notes and catalogues everything he learns from a fire 'so as to have a little nugget handy in our minds to lick a problem next time it shows.'"