Why TIME would waste a cover and eight pages on Mario Balotelli or on any other football player is a mystery to me [“Why Always Mario?” Nov. 12]. He’s well known for striking a ball with convincing skills, but that is basically it. Like a lot of ridiculously overpaid football players, his arrogance is matched only by his ignorance. There are certainly already hundreds of football magazines that can inform their readers about unexciting sportsmen.
Sébastien Kellner, WEERDE, BELGIUM
“Li abbiamo fatti neri” is not only “a pun on bruising and race,” as the authors wrote, but also a popular way to say something like “We gave them a good beating.” Mr. Balotelli wonders, “Why always me?” It’s not merely ascribable to racism, and it’s not what all Italians think. He is an easy target because of how he behaves on and off the football pitch.
Bruno Riccardi, CANEGRATE, ITALY
My 9-year-old boy shares the same African background with the enfant terrible on your cover, and he’s also a soccer talent. But I had to hide the issue from him, as I simply don’t want him to be another Balotelli of the football world.
Taiwo Danjuma, EGERKINGEN, SWITZERLAND
Losing Argument
As a neutral observer of the U.S. presidential election, I looked forward to reading the two articles outlining the cases for voting for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama [Nov. 12]. I started with the article for Romney, written by Rich Lowry. By the time I finished it, I would have voted for the other guy outright without reading the second article. Just by the negative tone and high-handed contempt toward Obama, I was fatigued from reading, especially the last paragraph, which displayed a strong hypocrisy from Lowry: “Another reason to hope for the retirement of President Obama is that it would improve the tone of our politics.” What about the tone of the Republicans of the past four years — and from Lowry himself?
John Laudon, HONG KONG
Hurricane Warnings
Re Bryan Walsh’s “Outsmarting the Surge” [Nov. 12]: I agree that we need to do more to prepare for future Sandys. But don’t blame man-made global warming for these storms. Yes, there has been some global warming and the resultant increase in sea levels. However, many of those studying global warming find that the portion related to humans is so small it can’t be identified in the data scatter. I also feel that the folks who want to live on the seashore should not rely on people like me in Colorado to subsidize them. We have our own problems.
Garin VanDeMark, FORT COLLINS, COLO., U.S.
Extremism in Greece
Parties like Greece’s Golden Dawn have been around for many years [“Darkness at Dawn,” Nov. 5]. These people do not know their own history of migration. Greeks have been immigrants in our modern world and can be found all over the globe. Most have reared successful families in their adoptive countries and have not been victimized as dark-skinned foreigners by their hosts. This party consists of a group of dangerous rabble-rousers, and the Greek laws should be applied to keep their activities within the law.
Joyce Brandt, MARINA DA GAMA, SOUTH AFRICA
After four years of austerity, unemployment, political corruption, tax raises and conspiracy theories about our future, Greek society is tired and confused. I feel that those who vote for Golden Dawn are not extreme rightists but voters feeling angry about the whole situation.
Chris Xiromeritis, KATERINI, GREECE
The article is a stark reminder of the dangers of fascism. Golden Dawn claims to bring a brighter future for Greece but conceals an ulterior racist agenda. While Greece has been given a raw deal by the E.U., turning to fascism is no form of escape; it will only lead down a path of hatred and destruction. If we want to avoid a repeat of Munich and the Holocaust, we cannot afford to ignore the threat of Golden Dawn to human rights and democracy.
Andrew Lim, DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND
You Call That Justice?
I am outraged by Joe Klein’s statement that the creation of Israel was an “act of international justice” [“Mitt and the Bomber Boys,” Nov. 5]. I am sure the Palestinians who were evicted from their homes and expelled from the land where they had lived for centuries can’t see what kind of justice that was.
Jean-Louis Desplat, ST-LÔ, FRANCE
In the BBC’s Defense
Re “Violation of Trust” [Nov. 5]: The caption on Jimmy Savile’s picture stating that he “personified the BBC” is laughable. Savile was a self-promoting DJ and kids’ entertainer. Albeit imperfect, the BBC is probably the most respected broadcasting organization in the world.
J.R. Watt, FORFAR, SCOTLAND
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