Time September 17, 2001 [antikvár]

Why Europe's Craftsmen Are Still the Best ^^Ifs a great comfort to me to know that in these high-tech times there are still people around who know how to make things from scratch.?? Gabi Guerin Cape Town i wonder why you picked danish fur- niture to write about in your special report on European excellence in craftsmanship [Aug. 20-27]. Georg Jensen silver, Royal Copenhagen china and Carlsberg beer are also world famous and worth writing about. And while there may be wandering journeymen from Germany, there are traveling artisans from Denmark as well. Aase Brown Rodovre, Denmark i was disappointed that you picked Lladro as an example of Spain's best craft. The company's porcelain figures, however well they sell, do not represent good taste, good design or the abilities of Spain's craftspeople. I have lived here for more than 15 years and have traveled all over this country. If you look for products of quality and beauty, appropriate for everyday use, you will find them in abundance. Your choice was very poor and misleading. I suspect it was based on how much money the Lladro company makes and little else. Linda Mastrogiovanni Madrid you gave quality a face with your stories on remarkable artisans and their creations. But why do people, despite the availability, precision and economy of mass-produced items, still pursue hand-crafted quality? What is the psychology behind this desire? Harald M. Eriksen Asker, Norway i immensely enjoyed your fas- cinating articles on old European crafts. It's a great comfort to me to know that in these high-tech times there are still people around who know how to make things from scratch and who could carry on even in case of a global power failure. Gabi Guerin Cape Town My Daughter's Death my 15-year-old daughter malki was murdered in the Jerusalem pizzeria bombing [Aug. 20-27]. I thought nothing could distract me fiom my grief. Then someone read me the headline of Time's article about the bombing: "Unholy War: A Suicide Bomber's Desperate Final Act Sparks Another Round of Retaliation." Your glorification of the act that took my precious daughter is unforgivable. What happened was barbarism. To think of it in any other way is to give it meaning. Malki was a loving, generous angel of a girl. A few days ago, her older brothers collected her cell phone and some other personal belongings from the police. Inside the phone's protective pouch was an ugly inch-long nail that formed part of that desperate final act. 1 also found a note on the phone mouthpiece that Malki wrote to herself: "Never speak badly of anyone." I wish you had considered the pain that such reporting can cause before granting suicidal Arab fanatics their moment of glory. Frimet Roth Jerusalem Mugabe's Reign of Terror there was a fundamental error in your World Watch item, "Zimbabwe: Violence Puts White Farmers in Court" [Aug. 20-27]. It stated that President Robert Mugabe's government plans to redistribute land confiscated from whites to poor black farmers. But the vast majority of confiscated land has been given to Mugabe's cronies and supporters, who have little or no idea of how to farm the land. Only a few decades ago, Zimbabwe could boast the soundest economy on the African continent. The insane policies of Mugabe have reduced Zimbabwe to penury. To divert attention from this plundering, he has sought to blame the hardships of his suffering people on the white farmers—a group that has done more for Zimbabwe since independence firom Britain than any other. Robert Read man Boscombe, England Straddling Two Tracks one can hardly admire the way President Bush made his shortsighted decision on embryonic stem-cell research [Aug. 20-27]. That he brought politics into it at all is reprehensible. Manipulating the human genome is a runaway train gathering speed by the minute. But instead of jumping on and inviting global debate about this profound evolution in science and human culture, the best Bush could do was to straddle two tracks, hoping 01' Engine No. 2004 would pick him up. Kathryn H. Hollen Leesburg, Virginia the debate really comes down to whether U.S. companies will ultimately hold the patents and reap the benefits from med- time.septmebeh 17.2001