Opinion Banking on him

Mumbai

War and peace

* Some people are stunned by President Barack Obama’s apparent dithering over an attack on Syria,to punish that country’s regime for alleged chemical weapons use (‘Syria crisis overshadows Barack Obama’s Sweden visit’,IE,September 4). It is not a bad idea to review and defer a decision that will result in violence. History will probably be kinder to a dithering Obama and other “peace mongers” than to a blundering George Bush. Peace and dialogue should be given another chance.

— Mohan Singh

Amritsar

Farewell to Frost

* This refers to the editorial, ‘A touch of Frost’ (IE,September 3). I used to watch him regularly on his popular television show while in England in 1969. I still remember the flamboyant David Frost trotting out his stories in a staccato fashion. As the editorial rightly mentions,Frost’s Nixon interviews comprised a pathbreaking moment in the history of television and he was eminently successful in bringing the best out of his subjects without ever being aggressive or arrogant. He was always canny and smooth,rather in the mould of Iago,from Shakespeare’s Othello. The journalists of today will indeed miss him.

— V. Subramanyam

Thane

Open field

* This refers to ‘Where society meets science’ by Sachin Chaturvedi (IE,September 3). There are lot of prejudices about GM technology in India at present. The prophets of doom had also predicted disastrous consquences before the introduction of Bt cotton. They continue to propagate many myths even now,but none of them is able to explain the growing acreage of Bt cotton. We cannot form an informed opinion until we get authentic data from field trials. Instead of a blanket ban on field trials of GM crops,the government should work towards the three-step exercise suggested by the writer. In the long term,this will also help build a scientific temper among the general public.

— Ajay Lingwal

Chandigarh