International -- Readers Report
Turning Gap Around Is a Team Effort
"Gap: Missing that ol' Mickey magic" (The Corporation, Oct. 29) degenerated into an inappropriate personal attack on Gap CEO Mickey Drexler, based largely on unattributed anecdotes and innuendos from former employees. The story gave scant attention to the openness and candor of Mickey and other company executives in admitting our mistakes and articulating what we're doing to move forward. As CEO, Mickey has stated that he is, of course, ultimately responsible for our performance. Our senior management group shares that responsibility and the determination to return Gap to its normal high standards of performance.
John Lillie
Vice-Chairman
Gap Inc.
San Francisco
One of the main reasons Gap sales are in decline is that Gap has lost out to the current enthusiasm for the H&M Group. In Munich's main shopping street, Kaufinger Strasse, there are three H&M shops, vs. one Gap. I love the lively atmosphere at each of the H&Ms, the great European diversity, and the affordable prices. I can buy several trendy yet basic blouses or pieces of trendy jewelry for the price of just one piece at a Gap store. Gap is old. I do not want to dress old or just in the standardized way one is supposed to dress now. I am 42, look 30, and I'll never buy into a fashion concept dedicated to my age.
Elizabeth M. Zeilbeck
Munich
How to Improve U.S.-Saudi Relations
Your editorial and commentary on Saudi Arabia were accurate illustrations of what is wrong with U.S. foreign policy: an obsession with having friends ("U.S.-Saudi Relations: Changes are overdue," Editorials; and "Get tougher with Saudi Arabia--but quietly," The Conflict, Oct. 29). Unfortunately, the American definition of friend is someone who does what the U.S. wants--or at least talks the way the U.S. wants. This attitude favors robber kings such as Zaire's President Mobutu and Indonesia's President Suharto. Democratic leaders need to consider public opinion. Even nationalistic dictators have ideals. But as robbers don't have those problems, they are the most versatile in following the fickle U.S. foreign policy. My own recommendation for U.S.-Saudi relations: Start talking about democracy.
Wim Roffel
Leiden, Netherlands
Kicking the Oil Habit
Simply shifting U.S. oil dependence from the Middle East to somewhere in Eastern Europe is the wrong answer ("What to do about oil," American News, Oct. 29). Political upheavals will occur in that region as well, again forcing the involvement of the U.S. As a nation, we must embark to convert to a hydrogen-based economy. For the short term, we must focus on wind power and improvements in oil-efficiency technology. We are bringing in wind power in large-scale projects at 4 cents per kilowatt hour in the Northwest. What energy investment is smarter than that? Oil-efficiency technology may provide 50 times the projected yield of new drilling in the Arctic.
Charlie Knutila
Greenbank, Wash.
Contrary to popular belief, Americans do not have the highest standard of living--because we spend so much time stuck in thousands of miles of traffic congestion daily. Americans are also dying at a high rate in car accidents--42,000 deaths per year.
Europeans spend much more time enjoying life: They have invested heavily in high-quality train systems that move people quickly, safely, and efficiently. Instead of pouring billions of dollars into expanding highways and trying to save a dying airline industry, let's put that same money into changing our great country for the better with a new, nationwide high-speed train network like the Eurostar. It will make all our lives so much better.
Andy Kunz
Miami Beach
Many geologists think the world is approaching "Hubbert's Peak," the point at which global oil output begins to fall, bringing even greater risk of economic and political dislocation. Greater energy efficiency will buy time to diversify the U.S. energy portfolio with hydrogen and other petroleum alternatives.
Jim DiPeso
Kent, Wash.
September 11: The Soul-Searching Continues
In "Real masters of the universe" (Essay, Oct. 1), Bruce Nussbaum takes Jerry Falwell to task for declaring that we brought the death and destruction down on ourselves because of homosexuality, abortion, and the American Civil Liberties Union. He calls Falwell's statement "a silly, stupid comment to be dismissed in light of the comity of the day--but an extremist remark nonetheless made in the name of God."
I would not dare make such a remark "in the name of God." But I would not hesitate to make it in the name of my beliefs. Nor would this necessarily mean that I am wrong! Nussbaum has every right to disagree with the message of such remarks and every right to interpret events according to his views and beliefs. But I would disagree with him dismissing contrary remarks as "silly, stupid comment."
Obviously, I have no reservations in my condemnation of any type of terrorism. Apart from personally condemning it and apart from expressing sincere sympathies for the victims of the American tragedy, I staunchly believe terrorism meets the wrath of God.
Monsignor Anton Gauci
Gozo, Malta
Deep inside each of us, there is still some good. But it often takes horrendous incidents to bring it to the surface. Why can't people of different caste, creed, and color come together to help make this world a better place--if not for ourselves, then for future generations? I never became poorer by sharing and giving to others. On the contrary, it made me richer in many ways.
Rajen Parikh
New Delhi, India
Two letters in Readers Report of Oct. 22 (relating to "The roots of resentment," Special Report, Oct. 1) suggest that the U.S. has been generous in its treatment of poor countries. Not so. Data available from the Foreign Policy Assn. show that U.S. economic aid to undeveloped countries has been a smaller percentage of U.S. national income than it is from any of the other developed countries--many of them much smaller. In view of our high per-capita income, it should be the other way around.
Jetson E. Lincoln
Montclair, N.J.
Don't Open the Door to Remote Hijacking
If authorized people can remote-control an aircraft to protect us from hijacking, then we open up a new possibility: remote hijacking ("Jets that land themselves," Developments to Watch, Oct. 22). Sure, we could put appropriate security in place, but all security systems are only as good as the people who design, implement, and manage them. If the control tower has access to the right "keys," then others can get access.
Dale Shaw
Auckland, New Zealand
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