Letters: Teenagers are eager readers

Teenagers are eager readers - of the right books

Sir: It would be nice if columnists, such as Philip Hensher (1 February) would take a moment to look at the eagerness with which secondary school students are reading, before launching another attack on the lack of literacy in young people.

As a sixth-form librarian at my school, I spend my lunchtimes working in a library that is always lively and busy. Recently, over half of year seven pupils took part in a voluntary regional book awards scheme, in which they were asked to read and review seven books, before voting on a winner. This shows that young people not only read books set for school (from beginning to end, I might add) but enjoy taking advantage of opportunities to expand their reading. Forcing young people to read books that they find dull straight through, because reading is only acceptable if a book is read from start to finish, will only deter them from picking up books in the future. Rather, students should be encouraged to have fun with literature, by reading in a way that they enjoy.

As for Andrew Motion's list, I've read half of them. I reckon I should be able to squeeze in the other five before I leave school in summer, but I'll stop half way through if I get bored.

KATIE MCGETTIGAN

STRATFORD UPON AVON, WARWICKSHIRE

Sir: I would like to take issue with Philip Hensher. Surely the best of Tove Jansson's Moomin books is Comet in Moominland, with its themes of friendship, journeys and astrophysics?

JO POWER

TWICKENHAM, MIDDLESEX

Free speech and religious hatred

Sir: Your leader (2 February) argues that the defeats inflicted on the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill prove that Parliament "will not stand idly by while cherished freedoms are undermined".

Unfortunately, the Tuesday night debacle indicates just the opposite: that,but for an absolute shambles of party management, that is exactly what Parliament will do. It is further evidence of the slenderness of the thread on which our civil liberties hang - and of the dangers inherent in an electoral system that hands unrepresentative parliamentary majorities to minority governments.

CHARLES HOPKINS

NORWICH

Sir: It may not yet be apparent in the midst of the fallout from the publication of cartoons depicting Mohamed in a Danish newspaper, but the predictable over-the-top reaction of self-appointed representatives, many Arab governments and Muslim imams is arguably a turning point.

The reactionary demagogues in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere have handed a stockpile of ammunition to equally narrow-minded right-wing sentiment here in Europe. With freedom of expression under fire, watch now for the rise of the Jean Marie Le Pens and a gradual swing to the right in many European countries. The extraction of an apology might be a tactical victory for the demagogues, but it is a strategic blunder for Europe's law-abiding Muslims.

KENNETH HOUSTON

LETTERKENNY, CO DONEGAL IRELAND

Sir: Since the news of publication of cartoon images of Prophet Mohamed across Europe, people here have been arguing that in spite of being Christians they do not care whether a cartoon image of Jesus Christ or of God is published.

Muslims however do. They deeply respect Prophet Mohamed and they equally respect other prophets such as Jesus Christ and Moses. Has anyone ever seen cartoons depicting any of the prophets being published by the Muslim press? Debate on religion and its values is definitely acceptable and should be encouraged, but deliberate insults and ridicule only cause hurt and inspire hatred.

DR SHAAZ MAHBOOB

HILLINGDON, MIDDLESEX

Sir: For me those silly cartoons don't mean anything. But for a Muslim they might be terribly offensive. So the ball is in my court to stop my silly jokes. They are obviously no joke to my Muslim neighbours.

Please, let's listen with gentleness to each other.

SIEGLINDE DLABAL

LONDON E17

Sir: I was more amused by Mark Steel's omissions than the content of his article (1 February). He criticised and insulted the Bible, the Jewish religion, Christianity and Jehovah's Witnesses but made no mention of the Koran or Muslims. Surely he wasn't worried about what was happening to his Danish colleagues, who were being threatened for being "amusing" about the Prophet Mohamed?

PAUL THOMAS

LONDON N3

Whatever the label, the need is the same

Sir: It has been chastening to read the very interesting correspondence on the issue of "labels for people with disabilities". As someone who has the responsibility for assessing whether the label of "learning disabilities" should be applied, I am well acquainted with the controversy that surrounds this.

Whilst for some people, a label can mean access to much-needed support, for others, it can feel highly stigmatising and unnecessary. Having worked through the eras of "mental handicap", "learning difficulties" and more recently "learning disabilities", I have concluded that there is no single, ideal label that encapsulates the enormous range of individuals, needs and aspirations, subsumed within it. I also appreciate the comments made by a number of parents with children with severe disabilities that semantic debates are quite meaningless when there are the much greater priorities of consistent and effective service provision to consider.

If it is possible to agree on a label that is good enough (that is, non-stigmatising and generally well understood), an important next step will be to ensure that the needs of individuals to whom this is applied are addressed. Locally, we have developed a service for people with learning disabilities and mental health problems, as this need has not been particularly well met in generic services. This process would ideally extend to other groups, particularly individuals with severe and multiple disabilities and their families and paid carers.

It is a cruel irony that whilst major investment in neo-natal research has meant that many more individuals with severe learning disabilities are making it through early infancy and into adulthood, there has been comparatively little investment aimed at ensuring that the lives these individuals lead will be as fulfilling and of as high a quality as possible.

CHARLES PARKES

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST CAMDEN LEARNING DISABILITIES SERVICE, LONDON NW1

Obstacles to peace in the Middle East

Sir: The suggestion by Charles Duff (letter, 2February) that Israeli violence is "a thousand times" worse than Hamas is as unhelpful as it is nonsensical. The IDF targets militants and therefore those actively engaged in conflict. By contrast, deliberate targeting of civilians - men, women and children - by Hamas not only breaches international law, but has the sole aim of spreading fear and increasing tensions throughout the region.

The stated goal of Hamas is to destroy the state of Israel and remove the Jews from the land. This explains why each positive step towards peace between the two peoples is met by further violence from Hamas and their ilk.

Rewarding a terrorist organisation with funding to support the economy not only sends the wrong message, but treats the symptoms and not the cause. Only peace will improve the Palestinian economy and lead to a removal of checkpoints and roadblocks. The only way to peace is through dialogue. Whilst Hamas refuses to recognise Israel, this is not an option.

JEREMY COHEN

LONDON N3

Sir: Critics of Israeli "violence" do not appear to be able to draw a distinction between aggression and self-defence.

Israel was set up under the auspices of the United Nations, and its right to peaceful existence has never been challenged by the international community as a whole. It is a peaceful democracy living under the rule of law. Despite this, it has for decades been under political and at times physical attack from neighbours who are not democracies and in which human rights are, to greater or lesser extent, not respected.

The occupied territories are so because Israel happened to win every war in which she was engaged. Had she lost even one of those wars, she would not now be occupied herself; she would simply have ceased to exist.

Israel has the right to self-defence. Israeli forces act outside Israel because Israelis have learned that this is what their security requires, and have demonstrated that they are prepared to return any non-Israeli territory where the threat to them has ended. If Arabs wish peace, then the matter is in their hands.

ALEX SWANSON

MILTON KEYNES

Poetic clash in the waiting room

Sir: In her valuable piece on the impact of poetry and the intrusion of bureaucratic box-ticking on schemes seeking to promote the medium (Arts & Books Review, 27 January), Christina Patterson mentioned Poems in the Waiting Room. I believe however that from her comments about it being set up by a former social worker, she was in fact referring to a different scheme known, unfortunately by a title close to ours, as Poems for the Waiting Room.

Poems in the Waiting Room was established in 1995; the other scheme adopted a title close to ours in 1998. We provide a quarterly supply of poetry cards for patients to read and to keep, and so achieve the close intimacy of poetry that Christina advocates. The scheme is directed to general practice where the benefits are most evident.

MICHAEL LEE

EDITOR, POEMS IN THE WAITING ROOM, RICHMOND, SURREY

Don't be cruel to the poor cold callers

Sir: I found your article about the "artist" Martin Englebregt and his "counter-script" for householders to use against cold-callers very simplistic. Nobody would disagree about the nuisance of being cold called in the evening. A little bit more thought though will surely bring you to see the other side of this annoyance.

On the other end of the line is a person trying to do a job. Not a very enjoyable or rewarding job at the best of times but a job they may have been obliged to take in their particular circumstances. What they don't need is a smug householder deliberately humiliating and delaying them in earning their living. I think this is bullying. By all means lobby their marketing companies but spare a thought for the cold caller. It's their evening too.

DAVE SINCLAIR,

OXSHOTT, SURREY

Sir: Words fail me when I hear about a script to deal with cold callers. What happened to simply hanging up?

DICK LANGFORD

BRIGHTON

Why Japan still hunts whales

Sir: I would like to answer the questions about Japan's research whaling raised by Dominic Kirkham (letter, 26 January). First of all, it is important to bear in mind that the objective of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), of which both Japan and the UK are members, is the proper conservation of whale stocks, so as to make possible "the controlled development of the whaling industry", whose regulations, as adopted by the IWC, shall be "based on scientific findings".

One of the main reasons for introducing a commercial moratorium on whaling was that the scientific information available was insufficient to properly manage the sustainable utilisation of whale resources. Japan's scientific whaling is conducted in order to collect sufficient necessary information for the proper management of these resources, which cannot be carried out by non-lethal means. This view was confirmed by the Scientific Committee (SC) of the IWC.

The current scientific whaling (JARPII) is scheduled to be completed in 2011, and the results of the scientific research are submitted to the SC. Indeed, the SC has commended Japan's research programme, pointing out that "it has been providing invaluable scientific information, which is essential for the management of whale resources". Moreover, the full report of the SC has been published in the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management of the IWC.

JUN KODA

COUNSELLOR EMBASSY OF JAPAN LONDON W1

Everyone's planet

Sir: If we are serious about dealing with global warming we need to do more than hit air travel. When everyone starts to live in walking distance of their workplace and gives up their car for public transport I might consider giving up my annual trips by air to Australia to visit my family.

ANDREW PRING

BRADFORD

Mind your language

Sir: Tim Hinchliffe's observation (letter, 1 February) that replacement names are "always three times as long" strikes a chord here. Our school caretaker used to be just the Caretaker; then he became the Site Manager; now he's the Building Services Supervisor. What does this do to a lovely, old song like "Who takes care of the Building Services Supervisor's daughter/ While the Building Services Supervisor's/ Busy supervising the services of the building"?

NICK FENWICK

BIRMINGHAM

Happy in the centre

Sir: I think it will be good "if all the parties mill around in the centre ground" ("Cameron denies betraying party", 31 January) because then I can choose my vote for whoever appears to be the best person to represent me without having to rule out some very able people because they happen to be in a party with some policies that are unacceptable because they are too far left or right.

H TREVOR JONES

GUILDFORD, SURREY

Winning weapons

Sir: I was very disappointed by the article "Best of British" (27 January). Stephen Bayley writes that "the Spitfire could not carry sufficient armament". However, the aircraft pictured is clearly fitted with 20mm Hispano cannons, enough to turn any German aircraft into a Swiss cheese. He claims that "Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb never worked." On 16 May 1943, 617 squadron were able to breach both the Mohne and Eder dams, releasing around 440 million cubic yards of water into the Ruhr valley and causing general devastation.

J SAMUEL

READING

Trick of memory

Sir: So scientists are to study déjà vu (report, 2 February). Hasn't that been done before?

EUAN CARTWRIGHT

HAYTON, CUMBRIA