Hear All Sides

COMEDY DOUBLE ACTS

IF the names you selected were your idea of the all-time greats of comedy (Echo, Oct 20) you should go and lie down in a dark corner until you recover from whatever ails you.

There is no way that Numbers 7 (Reeves and Mortimer) and 9 (French and Saunders) should be in that list.

In place of Reeves and Mortimer should have been Little and Large - at least they are amusing.

Dawn French can carry comedy on her own, but Jennifer Saunders is a waste of space. It is noticeable that she gets other people to carry her through, people like June Whitfield and, of course, Dawn French.

Number 10 (The Likely Lads) cannot be included because really they are not a comedy duo.

You also missed Cannon and Ball off the list. What were you thinking of? - ME Harris, Darlington.

WAR ON TERRORISM

THERE is something horrible about wealthy, powerful countries offloading a lot of surplus bombs and missiles on the patched-up hovels of a poor war weary people.

I am sure that the average inhabitant of Afghanistan would prefer to remain in obscurity rather than enjoy the present notoriety. They have nothing. Many have been the innocent victims of brutality, murder, rape and pillage for the past 20 years or more.

Many more will now die in their hovels because they have nowhere else to go. Others will starve and die of exposure in seeking escape.

It is, of course, comforting to know that the "Christian" west is dropping tents and other camping supplies on them.

What is the purpose of this monumental act of barbarism? It is ill-conceived, brutal and counter-productive.

It will certainly not lead to an end to terrorism. Rather it will give the terrorists justification for their attacks on western civilisation. - Carl Watson, Darlington.

PRESIDENT Bush and his toady friend Blair have presented the bombing of Afghanistan as a War on Terrorism.

The British media willingly accepts this version of events.

But to many people in the Third World, it is not bin Laden who is the biggest threat to their security but the American government which is the leading sponsor of state terrorism.

Nowhere has this been more visible than in Latin America. For many years America has supported and continues to support armed criminals and murderers.

Last week as well as the bombing of Afghanistan a group of villagers were murdered in Columbia by right wing fascists with links to the drug trade.

Who armed and funded these murderers? Was it Osama bin Laden or George Bush? I will leave you to guess. - John Gilmore, Darlington and District Socialist Alliance.

Terror, terror, terrorism - that's what the combination of drugs funding the Taliban and bin Laden terrorists in Afghanistan equals.

We should shutdown every outlet that provides resources to murder innocent people, as we saw happening on our TV screens in the United States on September 11.

Such atrocities are almost certainly being funded from drug sales both here in the UK and in the US. The current terror campaign involving chemical warfare is also largely funded from these sales.

If you are a drug addict taking these illegal substances please stop - get help. Every penny you spend could be used to kill or maim innocent men, women and children in our country and throughout other major democracies by international terrorists.

Those who continue to pedal these drugs also sponsor international terrorism. They should be taken immediately off our streets under emergency

legislation until this international war against terrorism is won by the democracies of this world. - Councillor Ken Walker, Leader of Council, Middlesbrough.

WHAT a terrible crime Darlington firefighters committed last Friday. They forgot to give 28 days notice to the council to collect money to aid the widows and orphans of the New York.

Firefighters gave their lives in the recent terrorist attack.

Did the Terrorists give 28 days notice? Were the firemen warned 28 days earlier that they may die in this atrocity

As the council purports to represent the people of Darlington, I demand it apologises immediately and donates a substantial amount (£5,000) to this most worthy cause.

Darlington is not a town of Scrooges and if the council refuses to allow its citizens to donate, it should do so on our behalf. - DG Brookes, Darlington.

AID FOR AFGHANISTAN

OXFAM'S Yorkshire and North-East Campaigns office has been inundated with calls from local people wanting to know how they can help the people of Afghanistan.

Right now 2.5 million people face a desperate lack of food and as winter approaches the situation can only get worse.

The crisis in Afghanistan is becoming one of the greatest humanitarian challenges the international community has ever faced.

Oxfam has been working in Afghanistan for over 12 years, where families have already endured three years of severe drought and 20 years of war. Oxfam is now working in extremely difficult conditions to deliver food supplies in Afghanistan to those who need it most - before the onset of winter in mid-November.

But if more lifesaving aid does not arrive before the snow many more people face starvation.

Please write to Tony Blair today. Ask him to take a lead and urge the international community to allow food into Afghanistan before the snows arrive.

The impact of individual campaigning can't be over-estimated.

Money is urgently needed to fund the emergency aid effort. Oxfam's appeal has already raised £150,000. Just £25 will feed two people for the whole winter. If you would like to donate to Oxfam's Afghanistan appeal please call 0845 303 0023, or donate via your local Oxfam shop, or online at www.oxfam. org. uk/afghanistan. - Rebecca Palmer, Oxfam Afghanistan Crisis Appeal.

RAILTRACK

I REFER to your comment (Echo, Oct 16) on Railtrack, in which you argue that the Government has a moral obligation to compensate Railtrack small shareholders for the losses they have incurred.

I was such a small shareholder until June of this year, when I sold at 64p a share less than issue price. My loss was compounded by my accepting 'scrip' in lieu of dividends which of course are more or less a total loss.

For example, in October 1996 I got three shares supposedly worth £15.85 each in lieu of cash, in October 1999 six shares allegedly worth £11.58 each and as late as February last year four shares at £8.23 each. I do not see why the taxpayer should compensate me for my loss which is due to the gross incompetence of Railtrack management.

One should always read the small print - share prices can go down as well as up.

I think, however, that there should be an investigation into why Railtrack share prices could fall from nearly £16 in October 96 to zero in October 2001, while the company continued to pay substantial dividends.

Frankly, it stinks.

Perhaps the directors might be persuaded to return some of their ill-gotten gains or those who sold at £16 per share to return some of it for fairer distribution. Some hope. - Willis Collinson, Durham City.

ULSTER

N SMITH'S letter (HAS, Oct 23) is too simplistic when he says that foreign soldiers are patrolling the streets in Northern Ireland.

Two thirds of the population consider themselves to be British, and not Irish, so there are in their minds no foreign soldiers except in Southern Ireland. Of course, when unification takes place the Irish Government will have the problem of one million of the population regarding it as foreigners.

There are places in London where the majority of the residents are from Ireland. Most came to this country to find better jobs and a better lifestyle. Are we to suppose that the Irish Garda (policemen) should patrol those streets? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill