TSUNAMI: THE loss of life from the tsunami defies belief. Because of various governments' decisions not to have a warning system, thousands of lives that could have been saved were lost.

That is unacceptable and it defies belief that many could have been saved if an early warning system were in place.

The world leaders should hang their heads in shame for they have abandoned the very people they think they represent. - Bryan J Allen, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

NO-ONE could describe the horrors of the earthquake and the tsunami felt in human loss and continuing trauma for the many families across India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia.

Many communities have lost everything. Only those who were unfortunate enough to have suffered the vicious consequences of the tsunami can really know the pain and injustice of what nature delivered.

What has made this tragedy different is not only its magnitude, but also how it has affected so many people from such diverse backgrounds. We have come to accept, perhaps with complacency and association with Third World poverty, that tragedy eludes the more affluent.

As we know, there were many who perished who saw a Christmas holiday in coastal resorts like Phuket and the romantic islands spanning the Indian Ocean as a well-earned break, not the tragedy that erupted on Boxing Day with a vengeance. The hopes and aspirations of many are now shattered. Many will struggle to overcome the experience and the majority of those communities who have lost loved ones through the tsunami will not survive the aftermath of disease and famine.

To those of us who have observed the horrific scenes through TV and newspapers in the comfort of our homes, Christmas 2004 should remind us that we should never be complacent. No matter what commercial or technological advances benefit us, the force of nature holds no illusions and can penetrate with great intensity that can inflict deprivation. It is a reminder that, despite its expanse and diversity, the world is vulnerable. The efforts of many people in the advanced countries, such as Britain, are to be commended and heralds hope for the future. - Bernie Walsh, Durham.

LIFE is a risky experience of survival and history teaches us that it has always been that way.

The future will be no less so and the hazards will continue to take on new forms with each generation. We are programmed to survive and enjoy the challenge.

It serves us well to harness tiny bits of natural power, but the combined capacity of the human race is totally inadequate to restrain the limitless, latent power of natural disasters like the Asian tsunami.

No matter how mighty we think our kind are, we are subdued by what we are seeing now and it takes a catastrophe to make us aware of our vulnerability.

Don't we have enough on our plate in facing the extremes of nature, which favour no particular race, sex, creed, commercial interest or ideology, without having to fight man-made perils across the world?

I have an impossible wish for this new year that the separate power bases of the whole of humanity could face the challenges, achievements, joys, pitfalls and sorrows of life together, without strife.

Our in-built greed, which tells us that the more you have the more you are able to dominate others and survive, is very strong, but maybe we can see some progress towards our common survival on earth, irrespective of who and what we are.

Basically, we are the same, even if we are all individual. - George Appleby, York.

Weardale RAILWAY

I AM not aware of any local Weardale councillor who supports the vast amounts of public money being invested in the Weardale Railway (Echo, Dec 24).

I am aware that many local businesses are owed money by the railway. It is now time for the railway to submit a business plan that can show it can make a profit without having to rely on huge subsidies and grants.

If it can do this and prove that it can run the business along these lines, then it will have my support.

If it is unable to do this then it should close the business so that the grants and subsidies can be directed to other job-creating businesses in the dale. - Councillor Richard Mews, Wear Valley District Council and Stanhope Parish Council.

PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM

YOU ask (Echo, Dec 27) whether the Tories are right to reduce the number of MPs.

Whilst this proposal may have merit, it will highlight the electoral system as heavily biased towards Labour. This is not sour grapes, merely fact.

When you look at two constituencies you can see the problem. David Blunkett's Sheffield seat has 51,000 electors, whilst Tory Andrew Turner has an Isle of Wight electorate of 103,000. Labour strongholds like Central Scotland and South Wales and many urban areas have similarly small constituencies, although Scotland is being trimmed slightly.

It is said that for each Conservative MP in the Commons, their average vote was 40,000, for Labour around 25,000.

Using the present system, the Tories need at least 42 per cent of the vote merely to win, Labour 35 per cent - meaning the Tories could have half a million more votes and still lose an election.

So long as we have population drift from lovely socialist areas to despised Conservative areas merely to find a decent job and future for your family, then why should the Labour Party worry?

New Labour is about retaining power, and not improving areas that traditionally vote for Labour. Population decline in the North-East is testament to that. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

NEW Labour has got it all wrong with its Anti-Social Behaviour (Asbos) policy.

The latest edition of the Darlington Town Crier defines Asbo as a "broad range of events and behaviours that impact upon the individual or the wider community". The problem here is that this means behaviour is subjective, which can lead to young people being cautioned and/or dispersed if in a group of more than two, if they appear a "threat". Both of these examples can lead to more young people going through the justice system, or being at risk of injury in the case of being dispersed.

A second problem is that it gives the impression that all anti-social behaviour occurs within council estates. Those who breach tenancy "agreements" (some agreement!) can expect to face punitive measures.

Once again, since Asbos are subjective, this can mean anyone is at risk of being evicted if reported of participating in anti-social behaviour.

Do those on middle class estates (such as those who create these laws) never create anti-social behaviour? What of the many cases of hidden crime and/or domestic violence, victimless crime and the statistical fact that more crime is committed by adults against children within the home? Conversely, what have young people got to be positive about in contemporary Britain?

Until politicians acknowledge that the root cause of crime stems from unemployment and exclusion and that young people live in problematic, polarised worlds, will we see a solution? - Darren Metcalfe, Darlington.