16/12/03

This caused so much controversy that the limit was increased from 30mph to 40mph.

I frequently travel along Catcote Road, also in Hartlepool. Recently the speed camera was operating there in darkness. So many people have been prosecuted in Cleveland that the camera is becoming a victim of its own success. It is not unusual to travel in a long convoy where the lead vehicle travels at 20mph in fear of prosecution.

Everyone follows in second and third gear, creating additional pollution at a time the EU wants reduced emission.

The chaos also caused long build-ups of traffic on the emerging roads, causing total mayhem.

If the country continues with this policy throughout Britain the economy will suffer gridlock, and the truckers who deliver everything we take for granted will probably have lost their licences.

If the Government was truly attempting to make our roads safer, it needs to restore the traffic police and treble the speeding fine.

Parts of the A1 to the Scottish border are little better than a Roman road covered in tarmac. These are the real accident statistics. - Jim Taylor, Hartlepool.

RUSSIA

DURING the recent Russian elections, hundreds of independent observers reported serious flaws in the running of the vote, with vote rigging and intimidation being only two of the complaints.

As we are all aware by now, Zimbabwe has been accused of similar indiscretions and has been suspended from the Commonwealth.

Robert Mugabe, who cannot forget the nastier aspects of British Colonial rule, has taken his country out of the club.

Mr Blair is adamant that President Mugabe must change his policies before re-admittance.

I wonder what he will say to Mr Putin for committing crimes similar to those of Mr Mugabe.

I would imagine another invitation to tea at the Palace.

When is this sickening display of double standards and hypocrisy going to end?

Putin's human rights record in Chechnya is appalling and we should tell him in no uncertain terms to put his house in order. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

CHILD POVERTY

SO, the complaints from those offended by Barnardo's recent campaign on child poverty in Britain have been extraordinary. Good. It is about time that a well-aimed kick was given.

At this very moment, one third of all children in the United Kingdom are living in poverty. There are nearly four million children in families existing below the poverty line. Further, over one million children exist in extreme poverty; children who do not have enough to eat.

The reality is that this is happening to our children, in our country, the fourth richest in the world.

This level of poverty is shocking and the ugly picture these appalling statistics present is made a damn site worse by the bitter fact that it the powerful minority who take the lion's share of the national wealth.

If we had a government with the will to tackle this rotten structure and redistribute the national wealth in an honourable way, this disgraceful destitution would end. - John Beech, Durham City.

IRAQ

DOES anyone seriously believe President Bush would have invaded Iraq if it did not have a vast resource of oil?

Is anyone really proud of Tony Blair and President Bush, who have not produced one shred of evidence that the Iraqi people and its government were our enemies ready to attack in just over half an hour?

Is it not important to anyone that the US and UK are both signatories to uphold international law and the principles of the United Nations and the Security Council? - Francine Jackson, Whitley Bay.

HOWEVER little reported, it is a fact that many people in the US are opposed to the President's policy on Iraq.

Governor Dean, who is hoping to get the Democratic nomination, has, to my mind, a sounder grasp of what needs to be done. He gets growing and enthusiastic support.

The Romans learned a great deal about building up an empire, and thinking that they were a force for civilisation. The famous Roman Cicero wrote that an army abroad is of no avail unless there is counsel at home.

The counsel that needs to be heeded is that from the Secretary General of UN that to be an occupying power facing down resistance is not the way to a settlement. A guerrilla war can go on for a long time. Those not involved in the invasion have their part to play in reconstruction.

The cardinal mistake was to take military action without the specific authorisation of the United Nations. It was to try to sideline the UN and think it was irrelevant. The world needs to be more not less united to counter terrorism.

I think that the best chance we have got to get US onto the right track is for Governor Dean to win the Presidential election. Counsel at home would then be sound, and amends would be made for settlement and reconstruction to go ahead.

Our Prime Minister will easily do a U-turn. - Geoffrey Bulmer, Billingham.

Teesside AIRPORT

GIVING Teesside Airport a new name won't make a blind bit of difference.

They can waste as much money as they want on new signs. It will still be Teesside Airport.

On a recent trip from Malaga, looking at the departure board, all the destinations are listed including Liverpool (not John Lennon Airport). The tannoy anouncements refer to Liverpool Airport, and if you look in any holiday brochure, it will tell you that they fly from Liverpool (not John Lennon) Airport.

Everyone on Teesside will still refer to it as Teesside Airport, as will all the airlines and the tour operators. - Peter Rafferty, Norton.

WIND FARMS

I WAS very amused at the letter from Jim Harper (Echo, Dec 9) highlighting my misconceptions.

I should point out that my letter was actually addressed to the Editor in an effort to get his reporters to seek out and include real facts in reports on wind farms and being partly tongue in cheek, was meant to provoke the Editor.

However, canny fellow that he is, he saw through my cunning plan, removed a paragraph and published it in HAS with the result that my misconceptions were exposed to public view.

I do have a much better understanding of power generation and distribution as well as emissions from power station chimneys than Mr Harper gives me credit for.

But I still do not know at what voltage wind turbines generate their power or at which point it is fed into the distribution system.

Can Mr Harper or anyone else enlighten me? - John Routledge, Witton Gilbert.