11/08/05

Shame on all right-minded citizens for not showing an ounce of compassion for this poor unfortunate mother-of-three.

Shame on the chairman of magistrates for even considering giving out a custodial sentence for such a trivial offence of child abandonment to go sunning herself in Turkey.

Shame on The Northern Echo for not paying her for her story to let the citizens know how traumatic the court hearing has been for her and how all this bad publicity is affecting her health.

The poor lass needs a holiday, not incarceration. The public are shedding buckets of tears on seeing those heart-wrenching pictures of her remorse-ridden face. Anyone would think the girl was trying to take the Turkish delight out of the public.

Oh, by the way, in case you haven't guessed, I am being sarcastic. - K Turner, Stockton-on-Tees.

HIROSHIMA

ON August 6 it was 60 years since the US dropped the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, with the second on Nagasaki. Both cities were obliterated, over 250,000 people were killed and generations poisoned by radiation.

In May 2000, the nuclear weapons states agreed to accomplish the elimination of nuclear weapons, yet Britain has just under 200 nuclear warheads and each warhead has eight times the power of that which devastated Hiroshima.

We are deeply concerned that, instead of taking steps to eliminate its nuclear arsenal, the British Government has begun developments at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston which could lead to the production of a new generation of nuclear weapons.

Furthermore, the Government has said it would be prepared to use nuclear weapons in a first strike capacity, even against a non-nuclear weapons state, and is planning a replacement for the Trident weapons system.

These developments undermine British international treaty obligations and make the use of nuclear weapons more likely.

At this time, when we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the horrifying nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we call on our Government to make a commitment that the UK will neither use, threaten to use nor develop new nuclear weapons which would further destabilise the prospects of global stability. - Mrs L Johnson, Mrs H Speight, Joyce Schlesinger, Janice Spence, Jane Corrigan (Members of the group, Peace Action Durham).

BIN LADEN

MANY people may wonder what the word Bin in some Arabic names means.

It is the same as the English Thomson, Jackson etc, or the Scottish Mac, or the Irish O'. It is simply 'son of'. Also, the name Bint means 'daughter of'. So Bin Laden means son of Laden. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

FLY-TIPPING

WEAR Valley District Council states that fly-tipping in the district has increased to the point where it is getting out of control since Durham County Council introduced its permit system for household waste recycling centres in December (Echo, Aug 5).

I applaud the district council for taking a tough line on the problem and for stating its intention to prosecute anyone found responsible.

But I must take issue with its claim that there has been a "significant increase" in fly-tipping since the introduction of our waste permit system.

The evidence suggests otherwise.

Material that is fly-tipped is collected by the district council and delivered to the county council for disposal.

Latest figures show that fly-tipped material delivered to us by Wear Valley District Council between December and March this year totalled 93 tonnes, compared with 244 tonnes for the same period last year - a reduction of almost 40 per cent.

Figures for the financial year ending March 31, 2005, which include the first four months of our permit scheme, show there was no overall increase throughout the county as a whole either. - Councillor Brian Myers MBE, cabinet member for Waste Minimisation and Management, Durham County Council.

NO EXCUSES

IT is very seldom that I disagree with the editorial column in The Northern Echo.

However, the comment, Nailing the Iraq lie (Echo, Aug 5) was so far from the truth I feel compelled to reply.

The column said it was not Blair to blame for the bombings in London, nor was he responsible for the mayhem in Iraq and the Iraqi people 'welcomed' the invasion.

It would be laughable if it were not so unbelievable and tragic.

I suppose all the Iraqi civilians who witnessed their children, fathers and mothers blown to bits by our bombs 'welcomed it'.

The objective of the campaign in Iraq was supposed to be the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. Surprise, surprise - none were found.

There were two primary aims in the invasion of Iraq - one was to ensure oil supplies to the US and the other was to eliminate a threat to Israel.

Why don't you print a headline 'Britain supplied vital heavy water for Israel's atomic bomb'. Now that would be interesting.

It is not the duty of a newspaper to make excuses for a government which has made a colossal blunder in the invasion of Iraq.

Can we now see more invasions of sovereign states which happen to be ruled by a dictator? - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

TOWN KELLOE

BEFORE I respond to Liz Esnouf's letter (HAS, Aug 6), I think we should have an apology from The Northern Echo. The fact is that our address is Town Kelloe - approximately two miles out of Kelloe.

As said previously, not since the 1920s have we been left without a daytime bus service.

We now learn we have one to Durham at 7am and 8am then none until 7.40 at night. Still, I can keep using the skateboard during the day. They have a 'hail and ride' (taxi service) at Kelloe and Bowburn, but nothing for us as usual.

There were many complaints about the service, and with good reason. Sometimes buses not even turning up. Not funny when there's only one an hour and people depend on them to get to work.

Arriva has invested millions abroad (Business Echo, July 27) but are hell-bent on making sure we're left out.

Liz Esnouf says Arriva is committed to a better service. Well, with the 44 now only doing half the journey to Sedgefield instead of to Stockton/Thornaby (which I've advocated for years) and 27 new buses, there shouldn't be many breakdowns now - or even buses being very late.

PS. Nice to see a letter in Hear All Sides from one of the long-suffering drivers. Good on ye, lad. - Mrs N Staff, Town Kelloe.