After two terms of this arrogant and conceited leader, the people of this country should have realised that we can no longer trust him to fulfil his many promises, and we should make certain that there will not be a third term for him, or his party.
Oil or nothing
From: Mick Snowden, Manor Farm Bungalow, Amotherby, Malton.
Jean Evans asks: "Why attack Iraq, when there are African nations enduring far worse oppressive regimes than that of Saddam?" To answer question with question, and misquote Stalin on the Pope: "How many barrels do they produce?" No one in either the USA or GB administration has had the guts to admit that oil was the reason.

Empty lanes
From: S Franks, Montreal Avenue, Chapel Allerton, Leeds.
Simon Geller, writing on behalf of the Pedal Pushers Sheffield Cycle Campaign (October 5), says it fully supports South Yorkshire Police and the bus operators in clamping down on motorists who abuse bus lanes.
That may indeed be a problem, but my experience suggests that motorists avoid using bus lanes when they are perfectly entitled to.
Many bus lanes operate only during the rush hours, and are signposted to this effect. Yet outside those specified times, you'll see very few brave souls venturing down them. By failing to note the information on the signs, drivers are failing to make proper use of the available space, and thus contribute to congestion.

om: David Nugent,
Rakoczi, Balatonalmadi, Hungary.
DAVID Quarrie (October 5) is moved by the phrase "and no religion" from the song Imagine to feel that no particular faith is certain. No doubt if he were first to improve his musical taste, Bach's St Matthew Passion would make him declare that he knows there is a God.

Don't blame religion
From: Philip Smith, Copandale Road, Beverley.
I CAN understand David Quarrie's view (October 5) that our world would be a far better place without religion, but I disagree with him.
Religion often gets blamed for many wars that are based on racism or a quest for political freedom, but in truth, could anyone pretend that the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries were, or are, deeply religious? Any group using revenge rather than reconciliation as a tool of "progress" is clearly neither Christian nor correct.

Turkish membership of EU is in our interests
From: JD Bovington, Church Grove, Horsforth, Leeds.
It IS to be noted that when the heads of EU government meet in December, they will be recommended by the European Commission to begin accession negotiations with Turkey.
They will not be instructed to because the truth is that the elected politicians, and not the bureaucrats, take the decision.
The Eurosceptics know this, of course. They also know that the proposed constitution contains not one new area transferred exclusively to the EU Commission.
What it does propose is an extension of the principle of qualified majority voting, as brought in by Margaret Thatcher. The extent to which this is significant or desirable is open to debate.
Turkish membership is in our interests. Turkey is a member of NATO, has made great strides towards full democracy – although more needs to be done – and its accession offers the challenging opportunity to anchor an historic Islamic culture with a strongly secular government more firmly into the institutional architecture which has helped Europe to develop peacefully over the past 50 years.
From: Dr Paul Charlson, Westfield Park, Brough, East Yorkshire.
The rise of UKIP represents a genuine feeling that the EU is not good for this country and that single issue politics is increasingly the norm in by-elections.
However, it appears to me that a vote for UKIP in the General Election would actually make further European integration more likely. If we assume that about 70 per cent of UKIP support comes from disaffected Conservatives, then a similar pattern of voting in a General Election would allow the Liberal Democrats or Labour to win seats. 
As both the Lib Dems and Labour are committed to further integration into the EU by supporting the European constitution, it seems illogical to vote UKIP if one wishes to stop the march of federalism in Britain.

Shooting the most humane form of fox control
From: Aled Jones, Mount Crescent, Bridlington.
I am surprised that in the great newspaper debate about hunting, many letter-writers are only too willing to deprecate the shooting of foxes, claiming that the fox is usually peppered at long range with an inadequate shot size, and runs away to die a long lingering death.
Have they never read Professor Stephen Harris's evidential report entitled Method that causes least suffering in controlling the quarry species (fox, deer, hare and mink) populations, and its effectiveness? Surely most cannot have overlooked it. If I may quote from the said report:
"The most widespread method of fox culling is shooting, and this is widely perceived to be the most effective by practitioners. It is humane and extremely effective. It is widely argued that there are high levels of wounding with shooting. There is no evidence that this is the case.
"Of 824 rural foxes examined by my research group as part of a study into the health and condition of the British fox population, just five (0.6 per cent) had old gunshot wounds. These foxes came from a wide variety of locations around Britain and died from a wide range of causes. So there is no evidence of widespread suffering as a result of shooting. This is hardly surprising: rifle shooting is very effective and when the average weight of a fox in Britain is around 6.5 kg for a male, 5 kg for a female, even if the first shot does not kill the fox, wherever it is hit does a significant amount of damage to a small, lightly built animal, which is badly debilitated.
"So even if it is not killed outright, it is unable to run away and there is plenty of time for a second shot to dispatch it. During my studies, I have seen several hundred foxes shot at night with a rifle and have yet to see a wounded animal escape."
Unquestionably, shooting is the most humane and effective way to cull the fox population. I only think problems arise when the individuals doing the shooting are not fully trained, or if their equipment is of a sub-standard nature.
However, these are matters which can be easily addressed by legislation.
Lib Dems and young criminals
From: Jonathan Arnott, Ravenscroft Close, Sheffield.
The Liberal Democrats want to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12, and deal with all under-14s who offend outside the criminal justice system. This motion was passed at their party conference.
Yet only recently the media reported the case of an 11-year-old boy who has already (since becoming 10 and legally responsible for his actions) racked up 13 convictions for burglary and arson – and we might bear in mind that the police usually caution children for the first couple of offences, even if the offences are relatively serious.
Finally, the wheels of justice have turned far enough to allow an Anti-Social Behaviour Order to be imposed. This will undoubtedly be an inconvenience for him, but falls short of giving a strong message that society will not tolerate such behaviour. Society will not "punish" criminal behaviour, merely try to manage it and hope that it goes away.
Under a Lib Dem government, this boy would be above the law altogether for another year, free to wreak havoc upon his estate and strike fear into the hearts of law-abiding citizens.
It would probably be three further years before he sees the inside of a courtroom, and all the while society would reinforce the message that he can behave in this way without fear of punishment.
The naïve idealism of the Liberal Democrats makes their recent rise in the opinion polls very worrying.
Too many people believe they are the cosy middle ground between Labour and the Tories, when in reality their policies are dangerously misguided.
Under a Lib Dem government, with under-12s free from criminal responsibility, what would have happened to the 10-year-old boys who so brutally murdered James Bulger in the early 1990s?
Easter Act would benefit all
From: FD Moss, Eversley Mount, West End, Halifax.
In the near future, the school year is to be altered to six terms. This may well be of advantage to education generally but the point has been made that, in some years, Eastertide may fall in term time as Easter is a movable feast in the Church year.
Research has established that the Crucifixion almost certainly was on Friday, April 7 in the year AD30. Is it not time that the Easter Act of 1928 should be enabled and made law. This Act proposed that Easter Sunday should always be celebrated on the second Sunday in April.
Think what this would mean: a certain day – the same day every year – would make forward planning easier for everybody, including the Church itself.
Holidays would be easier to forecast, production programmes could be arranged well in advance. We should not have to be worried about the moon's phases in a solar calendar which has survived almost unchanged for 2,050 years.
In 1999, an MP proposed in a Private Member's Bill that the Easter Act should be passed into law but without success.
I do not know if this has happened in any other time in the 76 years that the Easter Act was debated, but it is high time to try again.
The truth
really hurts
From: Stuart Twitchell, Field House, Bishop Monkton, Harrogate.
BLAIR and Brown claim that their government is successful and the economy is in good order.
The amazing thing is, that an awful lot of people seem to believe them but I don't.
The reality is that the country has a balance of payments deficit running at between three and five billion pounds every month. Despite this, the private sector is increasingly burdened with extra costs (national insurance increases) and increasing red tape.
High levels of unemployment are hidden by increasing numbers of people who are almost encouraged to go onto sickness benefit.
The Government claims that it is going to reduce the public sector but in fact has been responsible for increasing it to unparalleled levels and it now employs half the working population. Manufacturing and agriculture are totally unable to support this crippling burden.  
The farming industry is dogged by increasing bureaucracy and can now only provide about 30 per cent of the food needs of the nation.
Despite this, the Government plans to cover increasing areas of the country with housing. Of course, the PC brigade, who I doubt can produce anything other than hot air, think that we should open the borders of this overpopulated country to anybody who wishes to come here. 
If this is the way this country is to be run, then I can only despair that this once proud nation should have sunk to such a low level.
Just Dandy
From: John Pashley, Sarand, Westcliffe Avenue,
Shipley.
I have read the Dandy for over 60 years and regard Desperate Dan as a likeable friend, who in spite of adversity, always comes out best in the end.
Michael Howard should be pleased with the comparison, and the inept New Labour propagandists made to eat a whole cow pie in penance.

We should have the knowledge to be allowed to die with dignity

From: Frank Pedley, Wood Close, Gisburn Road, Hellifield, Skipton.
Arising from the judge's decision in the case of the Wyatt baby, one commentator has suggested that the test for survival – time – has been replaced by the quality of life test.
Lord Joffe's Bill, to make assisted suicide no longer a crime and now before the House of Lords, goes some way to helping those who have decided for themselves that their quality of life is no longer acceptable and to act accordingly.
It should be supported, even though in my view it places on doctors a responsibility which is neither fair nor necessary.
But the debate should go beyond this.
Those of us who would wish, in the event of being faced with a terminal illness which would make life intolerable for us or for those who would have to care for us, should have information which would tell us which drugs, and how many, would constitute fatality, and after all the accepted safeguards to prevent abuse, should have them to hand when we reach the point of final decision.
We should not have to fly to Zurich in order to bring our lives to an end with dignity. Acceptance of this by society – which will come eventually as one way of coping with the lengthening of the life span and the problem it brings – would help to avoid botched efforts, desperate measures, and also what is called the "cry for help" syndrome.
Perhaps we should begin by finding an alternative word for suicide, which carries with it the condemnatory tones of its illegal past.
It also carries connotations of the wrath which religion used to threaten when apparently closing the route to a happy after-life. "Self-termination", perhaps?
Those who wish to let time take its course should have every help to do so.
But those who do not should also be entitled to the support that they need.