I NEVER cease to be amazed at the attitude of the media and people generally to the death of one or more individuals.

The destruction of the Twin Towers in New York received massive publicity to condemn what was an act of terrorism.

However, our media and public conception of mass death from one country to another gives the lie to the belief that we live in a world of close neighbours.

Since the last war there have been millions of people killed by military and political authorities and, by and large, the perpetrators go unpunished.

George Bush and Tony Blair seem hell bent on bombing Iraq into the Dark Ages with the resultant deaths of countless people, many of whom will be women and children. Who is going to bring them to book?

Thankfully, almost 80 per cent of the UK is against this bombing of Iraq. But since democracy is a meaningless sham, they can proceed as they please without fear of retribution. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

FOX HUNTING

LIKE many class-warriors, Harry Mead (Echo, Oct 2) is clearly disconcerted that so many people were prepared to demonstrate in opposition to a ban on hunting.

Far from signifying "ever-advancing respect for animals", the prospect of a hunt ban demonstrates ever-decreasing respect for rural people.

He seems very impressed with Labour's landslide, and portrays this as a mandate for a ban.

Let me remind him that Labour won just 43 per cent of the vote, gaining an even lower total number of votes than the last Conservative government. Nor has it ever promised a ban.

Furthermore, hardly any voter cited hunting as a defining factor. Recent opinion polls have shown that there is no firm majority in favour of outlawing hunting. - Alasdair Mitchell, Stocksfield, Northumberland.

FOOTBALL LINESMAN

WHAT an unfortunate person is Sgt Nigel Miller. Not only did he suffer from work-related stress, but he is also having to endure a sustained attack by The Northern Echo which can only serve as a threat to his future health.

One of the most effective ways of tackling a stress-related illness is to participate in an activity - a hobby or another job, for example - that the patient finds enjoyable and that is a contrast to the job that caused the illness.

This is what Sgt Miller was doing, with the approval of his doctor and the full knowledge of his employers.

Enter The Northern Echo, stirring up a fresh wave of unnecessary pressure via the Hartlepool fans, reported in a half-page spread (Echo, Sept 30).

It is to be hoped that such irresponsible hounding of a man who has simply tried to make a recovery from his illness does not cause a recurrence of the stress that caused him to be absent from work in the first place.

This story is simply not news. Perhaps it is time for The Northern Echo to bring to an end this period of closet tabloidism and either revert to its usual high standards or change its format. - Peter R Daniels, Bishop Auckland.

IRAQ

THE US and UK governments state that military action will be taken against Iraq if it does not admit weapons inspectors to check on its alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

As a peace activist, I would hope that if Iraq is found to possess WMD, that all of Iraq's nuclear, chemical or biological weapons are destroyed.

I would go further than this. All countries possessing, or suspected of possessing, WMD should be inspected and their arsenals destroyed. However, this is not likely to happen in the forseeable future. Could you imagine the US, Russia, UK or China agreeing to this, let alone countries like Pakistan, India or Israel?

Is WMD the issue, though?

We have known about how brutal the Iraqi regime is for many years now so why is war an option now? The US's prime war aim in the so-called 'War on Terrorism' was the capture of the principal suspect for the attacks on New York and Washington last year, Osama bin Laden. No proof of his existence or whereabouts has been established.

The prime objective of the 'War on Terrorism' has not been achieved. No proof of any link between al Qaida and Iraq has been established but George Bush pushes ahead for 'regime change' in Iraq.

Why is this? Could it have any link to to the 'unfinished business' of the Desert Storm campaign, US economic interests and Iraqi oilfields, US military and Strategic Middle East policy or US domestic economic concerns or the mid-term US elections in November.

The idea that Iraq could threaten Europe or the US with intercontinental ballistic nuclear weapons, given the certainty of massive conventional or nuclear retaliation from the US or Nato, is an absurdity. - Dave Atkinson, Darlington.

FIRE SERVICE

JUST why G Tucker Mordue (HAS, Sept 26) has such a downer with the fire service, only he knows. To state that some of the firefighters rarely attend a fire is ludicrous.

It is no secret that fire stations have beds. Throughout the world of the fire service, at 3am with no fires to attend, beds are provided for rest.

If there are no fires at 3am, the fire service needs to be commended on their community fire safety policies which are obviously educating the public of their risks.

I would like to point out that, on retirement, a firefighter does not receive a golden handshake. He receives a lump sum from his pension entitlement, reducing his weekly/monthly pension payments.

For the duration of their service, firefighters pay 11 per cent of their wages towards their pension and, after 15 years service, will pay £47.41 per week into their pension.

Finally, a firefighter works 48 hours a week over an eight-day period. This averages over a year at 42 hours a week, not 37. - Tony Brown, Newton Aycliffe.