Letters: Sleepy corners of America

No fear of gang warfare in this sleepy corner of America

Sir: I wonder if Jim Cordell (letter: "We need no civics lessons from the US", 11 August) has visited the US. The impression his letter gives may lead visitors to take the precaution of purchasing combat boots, a flak jacket and a couple of stun grenades in addition to their sun-lotion and sneakers.

In Poinciana we tend to find white supremacists a little thin on the ground, likewise its a fairly sleepy hollow and a big moment would be when our local primary school holds a sports day, or a new restaurant opens its doors. We don't get a lot of gun-toting desperadoes, of any colour, in southern Florida; they'd tend to disturb the great pilated woodpeckers which are our pride and joy here on the bird reserve we call home.

You can get on a bus here (yep, we do have 'em) and travel to Haynes City without being too concerned that the character sitting opposite you has got anything more than strawberries in that bag he's holding.

We're pretty ordinary folk here, go to Church fairly regularly, cut the grass, repair the fence, chat with the neighbours (golf's great too); lots of us dislike our President, and the war in Iraq; we're not all supporters of Israel in the Middle East conflict,and we don't all watch endless soaps or those "reality" shows we get, I think, from the UK. Much like yourselves really. If you get the chance Jim, come visit; weather's pretty good most of the time and I promise I'll leave the tommy-gun in the boot of the car, along with the golf clubs.

JOHN WOOD

POINCIANA, FLORIDA, USA

New drink laws will increase alcoholism

Sir: One of the reasons given by the Government for allowing 24-hour drinking is that drinkers will no longer have to "drink against the clock". It is obvious that "drinking against the clock" is not and never will be social drinking and is already a problem. Longer opening hours for those already experiencing problems with drink will not create the culture of social drinking that the Government hopes will be the result of this legislation.

Your article about alcoholism (11 August) says that researchers have found that "repeated alcohol consumption leads to the development of tolerance" and "this tolerance leads to physical dependence and possible addiction". Research also indicates that alcoholism tends to run in families, and this is also true of some cultures. The French do have problems with alcohol dependency though as a culture they have a different pattern of drinking. It is misguided to believe their pattern of drinking is without harm.

Those of us who work in the addiction field recognise the difference between social drinking, alcohol abuse and dependency. Arguments in support of longer hours for drinking do not take account of the fact that if tolerance and dependency has occurred the drinking is out of control and it is not possible to cut down and slow down. People who have reached this stage need expert help.

Binge drinking gives rise to appalling violence, aggression and crimes of rape, and our Law Lords are right to object to the proposals. Our prisons are full of young people arrested for these crimes. It is the young who are particularly susceptible to becoming dependent.

The Government are attempting to introduce measure to deal with the results of drunkenness, rather than to deal with the already burgeoning criminal and social problems in our society. Already 60 per cent of crime and hospital admissions are due to problem drinking. Staggering the times of people coming out of pubs is only going to make the problem worse. Police and hospitals are aware now of two peak times of arrests and hospital admissions when the pubs close and when clubs close. The cost to society is enormous.

CHRISTINE WILSON

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD HERTFORDSHIRE

Sir: Maxine Frith supposes it is no big deal that 90 per cent of the pubs in England and Wales have applied to extend their drinking hours by "an extra hour or two on Fridays, weekends and public holidays" ("We already have a Faliraki drink culture", 11 August).

In fact, for city centres safely to disgorge large numbers of pub drinkers in the small hours of the morning would require significant changes to current transport provision. To take London as just one example - where there are 2,500 licensed premises in the West End alone - this would involve more night buses and late running of the Underground. But the network needs four hours of essential repair work every night. So, if trains were to run two hours later, the service would have to resume commensurately later the next morning.

This would be extremely problematic for, amongst others, tourists and business travellers using Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted for early morning flights. A debate on the inevitable impact extended licensing hours will have on the wider economy might therefore be more pertinent than glib comparisons with how British youth conducts itself in Mediterranean fleshpots.

DAN BRIDGETT

DIRECTOR OF PRESS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, LONDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, LONDON EC4

Sir: Just when we thought civilised drink laws were finally about to arrive in England and Wales, some members of the police and the media throw a wobbly.

The sudden hysteria whipped up in some of our national press about 24-hour binge drinking is a headline grabbing attempt to derail broadly sensible moves to bring England and Wales into line with every other civilised country in the world where alcohol is legally sold.

Fellow citizens in Scotland have enjoyed more liberal licensing laws for almost 30 years while in England and Wales we continue to be treated like second-class citizens, hounded out of pubs at 11pm, then queuing to enter an expensive head-banging club to continue a social night out. That is uncivilised.

Binge drinking is more to do with the large brewery drink bars with loud music and drink promotions targeting young people, that councils are happy to see on the high street.

Like relaxation of Sunday trading laws, more flexible bar opening times touches people's everyday lives, helping them plan their time in a sensible, adult way. Time has run out on this abuse of civil liberty.

BRIAN MCGAVIN

BALCOMBE, WEST SUSSEX

Sir: The liberalisation of pub and club hours will lead to the acceleration of closures of smaller, tenanted pubs which will not be able to cope with an increase of operating costs caused by being forced to open longer in order to compete with the bigger national chains, whilst at the same time their customer base remaining static.

In Alberta province, Canada, similar legislation eventually resulted in draconian and rigidly enforced laws in order to restore stability. Measures that had to be brought in included mandatory seating and table service, no standing with a drink in your hand, no approaching the bar, no sales of alcohol anywhere on a Sunday and no open containers of alcohol in public anywhere at any time. Another country, Sweden, had to bring in huge taxes to curb consumption, pushing beer up in price to £5 a pint/bottle in a normal bar.

AD WILLIAMS

HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY

Deferring entry to university

Sir: The difficulty the universities face in picking the best applicants for this year's places is not the only problem caused by the huge (and entirely predictable) increase in applications.

Most of the increase is doubtless from students who would prefer to start in 2006 and who in any normal year would have put off applying until then. This year, to avoid top-up fees, they have to apply straight away for a deferred place.

But the universities have traditionally been very unwilling to offer deferment for more than a small proportion of their places. The result is likely to be a large number of students (perhaps more than 30,000) who want to take a gap year, but who are told they must either take up a place straight away or to try again next year and pay top-up fees. Since their reason for applying now was to avoid top-up fees, most can be expected to miss out on their gap year and go up this September.

In general these will be amongst the more able students. By switching their entry to 2005, they will displace students who in any normal year would have obtained places, but who will now go into employment and may very well be unwilling to go back into education in 2006, particularly as they would then themselves be subject to top-up fees. So the universities are facing the possibility next year of many fewer than usual applicants, of a quality significantly below average.

To avoid this problem the universities will need to offer an extra 30,000 or so deferred places this year. I hope for everyone's sake they have the sense to do so.

DAVID RENDEL

THATCHAM, BERKSHIRE

Extremists face risk of martyrdom

Sir: Is it not at best patronising, and at worst actively racist to assume that the governments of Middle Eastern states are less to be trusted than our own to keep their word about the treatment of deportees? And even if they were, isn't it an act of religious charity to allow these pious Muslims the opportunity to live in states where the cultural and legal background is that of their own religion, and they are away from the impieties and false religions of the evil West?

Indeed, those states may even be able to offer them the opportunity to become shuhadaa' - martyrs or witnesses for their faith - and thus enjoy a rapid transition to that heavenly bliss for which such witnesses, they assure us, are destined. Under the circumstances it is difficult to see how there could be any objection to deportation at all.

PAUL BLAKE

LONDON SE13

Sir: Your leader (11 August) "We should be thankful we have an active judiciary" commanded my near-total support. However, you stated that "the Human Rights Act has enabled judges to strike down legislation". This is quite wrong.

The additional power given to judges is not to frustrate the will of Parliament by annulling laws. Rather it is to make a declaration that the law under question is so noxious that the UK would be in breach of international law if it were allowed to stand.

Once that declaration has been made, the law remains in force, which is why the Belmarsh detainees were not immediately released when the judgement of the House of Lords was delivered. Parliament then decides as a political question whether or not it is willing to flout the acknowledged human rights of the persons under question, and risk breaching international law.

The Human Rights Act is explicit. Section 4(6) states that "A declaration of incompatibility does not affect the validity, continuing operation or enforcement of the provision in respect of which it is given".

The fallacy that judges are now able to strike down Parliament's laws is now horribly prevalent. At this time of increased public debate about the merits of the Human Rights Act, this mistake is more unhelpful than ever.

IAN HIGGINS

MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE

Sir: I can understand the reluctance to deport people who face torture in their home countries. However, when it comes to extremists I would rather risk that they might face torture, instead of my friends and neighbours face death and explosions on their way to and from work. I am not saying I support torture, but the safety of citizens should be the Government's first concern.

JAMES C AKLEY

BLOOMFIELD, NEW MEXICO, USA

Death-knell for sport

Sir: With regard to Jenny Jones's concern for London's playing fields (letter, 9 August), Newport City Council here in South Wales is considering converting our local playing field into a cemetery. A more perverse decision, in the light of increased obesity in the young and the lack of anywhere else to play football and other games, would be hard to imagine.

KEITH TOMLINSON

NEWPORT, SOUTH WALES

Degrees of hunger

Sir: Page 5 (11 August): BA "set up emergency feeding stations for passengers facing long-haul flights of 12 to 14 hours" due to catering staff strike. Page 19: Picture of Niger mother Khatima who has trekked for miles in the heat to a relief station, having not eaten at all for four days, with nothing but boiled, poisonous leaves to feed her seven children for the past two months. "Hunger added to passengers' woes"? Any chance of a modicum of perspective from the author?

JOANNA BURNETT

CAMBRIDGE

Out of phase

Sir: Your article (12 August) on the Perseid meteor shower claims that it should be more spectacular due to a "waning moon". However, I distinctly saw the new moon around sunset a few nights ago and your own weather page states that the moon's first quarter is tomorrow (13 August). Therefore, the moon is waxing - growing larger from night to night - and not waning - growing smaller from night to night. However, as the moon is setting at 22:44, it should not affect the display occurring after midnight.

PAUL DORMER

GUILDFORD, SURREY

Don't call us British

Sir: Like Harjinder Bahia (letter, 12 August ), I, too, need no "rebranding". I am English, and do not like the generic pejorative "British" tag. Likewise, just watch the crowds at Twickenham, Murrayfield, Landsdowne Road, and the Millennium Stadium!

JOHN BURROWS

LEICESTER

Thrill of the chase

Sir: Not only does Tracey Emin traduce the name of Benny Hill (12 August) but you compound the injustice by using the calumny as a front page banner. Benny Hill's running joke, as anyone who saw the programmes knows, was that it always was the girls chasing him. Never the other way around.

CONRAD CORK

LEICESTER

Sudoku solutions

Sir: There is an easy solution to Mr O'Brien's Sudoku problem (letter, 11 August): he should produce and save an empty grid on his computer. Then for each new puzzle he simply prints off a copy of the grid, fills in the given numbers, and tries to complete it. If he makes a complete mess of it he can print off another copy and start again. Cheaper than wipe-clean plastic and far less frustrating than correcting fluid and erasers. And what's more, as he gets more accomplished, he will find the need for copies decreasing.

JACKIE EPPS

ALTON, HAMPSHIRE