Audi has an advertisement for its car which I saw in London last week, showing a terrible rodeo sequence. As you all know, rodeo is when an animal like a horse or bull is maddened by being hurt, hit, fed with alcohol and things put into the anus: all to make it buck. People then pay money to sit on the animal while it bucks. Most animals break their spines when they crash, certainly most are killed when they get broken ribs, etc. There is a large campaign against rodeos in the USA.

It is amazingly degenerate of Audi to put in an advertisement like that. I would like all of you to write or email the company in your own countries or to the head office that you will be contacting all companies and people you know NOT to buy Audi and that you will be putting this into the local media as well if they do not take the ad off and apologise. GM did both when we asked them two years ago.

I cannot give you the email and postal addresses of the car company because I am looking for them. If you find them (Germany, I think) pass it round. Thanks.

Vajpayee

The candid photographs of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee getting his hair cut were splendid. (The DayAfter, October 16-31, 2002). It is a welcome break from the normal kind of photographs that are printed regarding the Prime Minister. Please let us have some more photographs of the same kind.

Atul Kumar
New Delhi

Northeast

The Northeast, like Jammu and Kashmir, has been an area of festering discontent, disillusionment and subsequent terrorism, though of a different kind that prevails on our western border (The DayAfter, October 16-31, 2002). For decades, the aspirations and needs of the people of the north-east have been given step-motherly treatment and the resources of the area have been exploited more for the benefit of those in other parts of the country rather than for the local residents. That they have complaints against the government of the country is a fact—whether justifiable or not is a matter of debate. The Government of India should take stronger initiatives to ensure that the youth of the area, who are in the forefront of the armed struggle against the legitimate law of the land, are persuaded and convinced that their action is detrimental to progress. And also, more inputs should go into the area to increase the level of prosperity of the people. This will surely bring lasting peace and end one more trouble-spot in the country.

Moi Tse Toiba
Imphal

On-Line Lottery

The widespread acceptance of on-line lottery (The DayAfter, October 16-31, 2002), and the State lotteries in earlier days, only indicates the greed that has overtaken us and the abandoning of the concept that earning by the sweat of the brow is the only way to happiness and peace. And cashing in on this, commercial operators, tv channels, radio networks and even private racketeers have floated schemes to trap people. This is a bad trend and not good for the country in the long run.

P. Bhattacharya
Kolkatta