LETTERS

MARKET MADNESS

"One thing is clear, dealing in the stock market is like sitting on a powder keg. Be careful, it's giving off sparks!" OMO AHIMIE Lagos, Nigeria

I have been successfully investing in the stock market for the past 20 years without relying on the Federal Reserve Board and its various chairmen, including Alan Greenspan [BUSINESS, Nov. 10]. I don't have an M.B.A., but here's my counsel:

So keep your stock, I do advise. The longer kept, the price will rise. Buy low, keep long whene'er you can. Ignore the Fed and Al Greenspan. ISA K. MUSHAHWAR Grayslake, Ill.

The securities markets are not the same thing as the economy, and press reports that suggest the two are equivalent are misguided. Your article relates how mystifying the market plunge is in terms of either the current economy or any reasonable predictions about it. The U.S. markets are the playground of the securities-exchange members. The small traders, even those with online access, did not participate in the panic; only the members on the floor did. To ask "What is the market telling us about the economy?" is to ignore your own analysis. JACK REPENNING Santa Clara, Calif.

Greenspan is laughing as if he's heard a great joke. And that's what the market is right now--a big joke. After the punch line (the definitive crash), the market will reflect real values, not hype. M. ARTHUR GILLIS Dallas

CHANGE IN CHINA TAKES TIME

Thoughtful Americans will find that Jiang Zemin's visit to the U.S. has been a challenge [WORLD, Nov. 10]. We have demanded that China quickly end its abuse of human rights, while disregarding the vast differences that exist between the two nations. Peasants in China cannot be likened to inhabitants of U.S. slums. While China should immediately take more aggressive steps, no one knows when it will be able to end its inhumane treatment of thousands. Such changes take time. FLOYD RAGAN Scottsdale, Ariz.

President Jiang's insensitivity to civil rights results from fear of social chaos. He may be haunted by the Russian experience: when Mikhail Gorbachev started tinkering with the Soviet system in 1985, his communist empire came crashing down. It is impossible for a dictatorial system to survive when people openly question the government's policies. To evaluate an adversary's stand correctly, we have to understand his fears. ANGELO A. DE GENNARO San Antonio, Texas

AU PAIR IN THE SPOTLIGHT

I watched the trial of au pair Louise Woodward [NATION, Nov. 10] and came to the same conclusion the jury did: that Woodward killed baby Matthew Eappen. Maybe it was not done intentionally, but don't be fooled by Woodward's appearance or British accent into believing that she is innocent. JOANA K. TAM Burnaby, B.C.

Is Woodward the only person who could have injured baby Matthew? Could the baby's father or mother have been responsible for his death? And what about Matty's older brother Brendan, now 3? Could something have happened if the baby had been left alone with Brendan? NANCY RAFTERY Bathgate, Scotland

Those of us who have toddlers know that an inexperienced teenager cannot cope too long with the severe strain of caring for youngsters. There should be regulations to protect young exchange visitors who come to the U.S. They should have to work only reasonable hours and have time set aside for education and recreation. The parents of children being cared for by au pairs should bear the ultimate responsibility for the safety and welfare of their children. MASSOUD TEHRANI, M.D. Punta Gorda, Fla.

For working parents, the child-care dilemma is a source of often daily anguish. We entrust our youngsters to caregivers who frequently work for low pay and have little training. We all should closely examine policy priorities that allow us to spend millions regulating professions, from court reporters to pest eradicators, but leave thousands of kids to the mercy of fate. BRIAN MAAS Sacramento, Calif.

LIFE ABOARD MIR

Thanks for the riveting story about U.S. astronaut Michael Foale's time aboard the Mir space station [SPACE, Nov. 3]. After reading about the near disaster when the supply ship crashed into Mir and knocked out half its power supply, I gained a new respect for all the men and women who risk their lives for mankind. Whether it's their working together to avert a crisis, enjoying the quiet peacefulness of space or having empathy (and even tears) for their fellow man, there's something the Pentagon and Russia can learn from these brave people. DAVID RUCKS Paducah, Ky.

SAY NO TO A PLATE OF PILLS

Your report demonstrated how long-term megadoses of vitamins and minerals can become problematic [HEALTH, Nov. 10]. What is missing in our society is the important daily intake of basic whole foods. Vitamins are not intended to replace what we eat, and they do not provide us with the full benefit of fresh vegetables and fruits. Mother Nature has taken thousands of years to provide us with unprocessed foods rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other healthful qualities that no plate of pills can replace. WESLEY HILLIER Naples, Fla.

I know a number of people who have been taking about 45 times the recommended daily dose of vitamin C because they think it will protect them from colds or cancer or even AIDS. Now we know vitamin megadoses can be dangerous, one thing still confuses me. Some vitamins have many times the recommended daily intake. If overdosing is such a risky business, why are companies making capsules that force us to take more than is healthy for us? SEAN SUNLEY Regina, Sask.

WRITING FROM THE HEART

Shouldn't you know better than to judge a book by its cover? The promotional strategy of a Diana tie-in, which inspired the cover of my book, may be questionable, even exploitative, as your snide little squib suggested [PEOPLE, Nov. 10], but then again it may not be. I could provide good arguments on both sides of the issue. But don't you owe your readers some clue as to whether the contents of the book, Our Mothers' Spirits, merit reading? After all, this is an unusual collection by 42 men writing from the heart about the lives and deaths of their mothers. And it includes works from some of our finest literary masters--Updike, Cheever and Stegner, to name just a few. BOB BLAUNER Berkeley, Calif.

THE LOVE OF A WOMAN

I thoroughly enjoyed Hunter Thompson's story about his adventures driving up the California coast [SHOW BUSINESS, Nov. 10], even though he trashed my profession of astrology. What emerges in the piece is how the tenderness and love of a woman can tame the heart of even the most vulgar, nihilistic and wounded man as he realizes he's past his prime. Perhaps a competent spiritual astrologer could have validated Thompson's complex pathology 30 years ago. ROBERT P. BLASCHKE Nehalem, Ore.

RETURN OF "BRILLIANT PEBBLES"?

Leon Jaroff was off base in criticizing President Clinton's veto of the Clementine II program that would target an asteroid with a space probe [VIEWPOINT, Oct. 27]. The veto had nothing to do with asteroid indifference and everything to do with the fundamental weaknesses of the program. Clementine II is a thinly disguised version of the discredited "Brilliant Pebbles" missile-defense program of the 1980s, which posed major technical and treaty-compliance problems. The Air Force in 1997 did not want in its budget this Son of Brilliant Pebbles, masquerading as an asteroid-research program. Vetoing Clementine II was the right and responsible thing to do. NASA is already tackling this issue with a planned asteroid mission in 1999. JOHN H. GIBBONS Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Washington

MOVING TOWARD CLEAN ELECTIONS

In her observations on the creative Coalition's effort in Massachusetts on behalf of campaign-finance reform [AMERICAN SCENE, Nov. 10], Tamala M. Edwards drew only a partial picture and overemphasized the impact of celebrity. Edwards failed to state that for all the autograph seekers who appeared, many more Massachusetts residents listened thoughtfully to the Creative Coalition's presentation of the important points of the issue. They listened, and they signed our petitions. The Creative Coalition, joined by several other New York-based organizations, exceeded its most ambitious projections by gathering more than 8,000 signatures in one day. A clean-elections law has moved closer to becoming a reality in the Bay State, and the Creative Coalition is pleased to be a part of that process. ALEC BALDWIN, President The Creative Coalition New York City