MIDDLE EAST

I FEEL that I must respond to the letter from Hugh Pender (HAS, Apr 8).

Now that Afghanistan is no longer in the news he has, it seems, lost all interest with that conflict and again jumped on the Israel/Palestine bandwagon.

Where were his comments on the failed attempt by Taliban forces to eliminate the new provisional government?

He starts this letter with the hypocrisy and double standards of the West to the conflict in Palestine.

For his information, Israel has, on several occasions, pulled its troops out of Palestinian-held positions and only returned when attacked by cowardly suicide bombers on the orders of some high-ranking Palestinian leader, whoever they may be.

Yasser Arafat is the leader of the PLO and is therefore held responsible for their actions.

The only thing I do agree with Hugh is that, until this situation is brought to an end, countless more will die needless deaths on both sides.

So, unless you have a way of ending the conflict, please shut up and give those who are trying a chance. - David Lythe, Willington.

DOES the writer of your front page report (Echo, Apr 11) 'Suicide bomber strikes back' really believe that Israelis ought to just relax whilst allowing despicable Arabian terrorists to blow their lives and limbs away from them on a daily basis until there is no Israel left anymore, or until these evil men run out of kids to use as mobile bombs?

I don't know which Israelis your writer mingles with, or upon which planet he/she and they sit conversing upon. But all the Israelis I know want and desperately need strong leadership to defend them from the daily round of murder. That's why they democratically elected Ariel Sharon.

Recently, Mr Sharon did what should have been done 19 months ago in removing the terrorist scum and all their weaponry. It would have saved many innocent Israeli lives and limbs. - Bethany Megan Robinson, Darlington.

HUGH Pender (HAS, Apr 8) asked why no action is ever taken against Israel. The answer is simple.

Within America, powerful lobby groups, through funding raising and party contributions, have an indirect influence on the policies of both of America's political parties. The result of which is that, no matter how many innocent men, women and children are killed by munitions, either provided by America or paid for with American money, no action is taken if it threatens party funding.

It is only when circumstances will benefit America's self-serving domestic interests action is ever taken. While America uses influence, threats and military power to prevent any actions that might hinder such interests (for example United Nations mandates against Israel).

At present, America's domestic interests lie not in preventing further deaths in Israel or Palestine, but rather in ensuring cheap oil for America and reducing Arab resistance for an invasion of Iraq to remove a dictator, who, like so many before him, was put and kept there to serve America's interests only to be deemed a threat when his actions started to conflict with American domestic interests. - CT Riley, Spennymoor.

THE answer to Hugh Pender's question (HAS, Apr 8) is very simple.

The guilt of nearly 2,000 years of anti-Semitism by the West, which led to the Holocaust, gave Israel carte blanche to do what it wants, whilst powerful Jewish lobby groups in America ensure that nothing is done and the funding which keeps Israel going continues, no matter how many atrocities Israel commits. - HE Smith, Spennymoor.

ROYAL FAMILY

ON the day of the Queen Mother's funeral, I counted about 20 half-dead bunches of flowers on the Market Cross in Darlington.

A pretty pathetic effort, considering the HM Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother visited the town in 1963. - K Isherwood, Darlington.

FOR the past ten days or so, the Royal public relations people have been working round the clock. We republicans have kept a respectful silence.

Probably half the country does not believe in Royalty, and it would be nice if the republican movement is given its fair share of TV time and column inches.

It is clear the eulogising of the Queen Mother has gone well over the top. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

I SEE that Harry Mead has been sniping at the Queen Mother yet again.

Last week's (Echo, Apr 3) disgusting article wasn't enough for him. What her debts were, how many houses, cars, chauffeurs etc, she had shouldn't have bothered him.

The Royals own so much land and property that her debts would only be a drop in the ocean for them.

How nice of him to describe in the same article some movie director called Billy Wilder in such glowing terms.

It would have been interesting if he'd told us how much Billy Wilder made over the years and how many debts he'd had.

"A man whose name will be feted around the world long after these two (Queen Mother and Dudley Moore) have faded." I know of Billy Wilder but many people who know and loved the Queen Mother will ask "which man? Never heard of him."

Perhaps Harry Mead ought to write for The Guardian. Maybe he already does. - H Shilvock, Spennymoor.

QUAKERS

I WAS interested to read Glen Reynolds' account of the origins of the Quaker movement (Echo, Apr 6), but I would have liked more information about what the Quakers stood for and what they stand for today.

At about the same time that George Fox moved north to found the Quakers, another radical Christian pacifist, originally from Lancashire, set up a communal settlement on St George's Hill in Cobham, Surrey, cultivating common land in the face of ferocious opposition. He was my ancestor, Gerrard Winstanley, instigator of the Digger movement.

His vision was of a harmonious society based on co-operation and the fair sharing of labour and goods. Money was to be abolished, along with the private ownership of the land and its produce.

"For when men have a law to buy and sell, then the cunning cheaters get great estates by other men's labours; and being rich thereby, becoming oppressing lords over their brethren, which occasions all our troubles and wars in all nations."

Hear All Sides regulars may wonder if such madness is hereditary! - Pete Winstanley, Chester-le-Street.

COAL MINERS

ONE of Britain's forgotten scandals is the broken promises to coal miners, thrown out of work by Conservative pit closures.

No expense would be spared rebuilding devastated communities, promised Michael Heseltine. Yet, many miners have been out of work since and parts of the North-East have been declared European poverty zones.

In a week where fat cat bosses at the Prudential, Corus and Arriva were hammered for taking massive pay rises, while their workers were either sacked or had their pay frozen, another escaped notice.

The self-proclaimed saviour of British coalmining, Richard Budge, was given a whacking £941,987 as salary and payoff for being booted out as chief executive of UK Coal.

The legacy of his stewardship was a £26m loss last year, in spite of receiving more than £20m of taxpayers' cash.

Further pit closures are being considered with the possible loss of 2,500 jobs. When will this Government look into this scandalous situation of fat cats taking the cream for failure? - DT Murray, Coxhoe.