Lighting up the sky

Safety is one thing, but discouraging the use of fireworks during holidays like Diwali is unnecessary, one letter writer comments. Other letter topics today: name calling in Turkey, the fate of Abu Dhabi's Guggenheim, tanker spills and corruption in the Arab world.

Fireworks, like this display last June in Madinat Zayed in the Western Region, are always exciting for all, a reader argues, so it is too bad they are so tightly controlled. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu DhabiShow less

How sad that a Turkish TV presenter couldn't find even a hint of compassion for earthquake victims in the Kurdish region of her country (TV host derides Turkish quake victims, October 26).

People everywhere have their disputes, all of which can seem very petty when Mother Nature changes the rules of the game with an earthquake, tsunami, flood or drought. At such times the tradition of the whole world, prompted by our mutual humanity, is to defer the name-calling and help ease a humanitarian crisis.

Choosing such a time to tell Turkish Kurds - who after all pay taxes - that they should "know their place", and not ask for government help, is shameful.

VJ Mehta, Dubai

Libya must move fast to recover

I think that the sooner the National Transitional Council government can institutionalise democracy, the sooner they can recover (Libya buries its past but not its problems, October 26).

Libya is a very rich nation and what is required is for the government to open its borders to foreign investment to capitalise on the natural resources, coupled with the release of funds and a public spending investment programme to rebuild the nation's damaged infrastructure, focusing on the basic needs of the people: housing, security, health, employment and education.

Randall Mohammed, Dubai

Too many tankers have accidents

I am really distressed about the sunken ship full of fuel (Cargo ship sinks with 450 tonnes of diesel, October 26).

First of all, what caused the ship to sink? Second, do we know that larger tankers are safer? Third, how do authorities know that the diesel fuel will not end up polluting shorelines and wildlife?

Obviously oil and oil products need to travel by sea, but it seems to me that too many tanker and shipping accidents, large and small, are being allowed.

Mona Quiray, Dubai

Maybe we aren't so disconnected

Rym Ghazal's article A Saudi exposé and the people everyone wants to ignore (October 20) about the man sitting ignored on a pavement really touched something in me.

Just recently I was telling some friends how I am missing inspiration and looking for a sense of vision, the sort that can awaken us and propels us to our nobility.

That article inspired me and gave me an internal strength, knowing that we don't live in a disconnected society.

Adib Eghterafi, Dubai

Do Taliban have a central structure?

Haqqani militants insist peace talks with US must be through Taliban shura (October 26) was interesting because it suggests that there is a central command, or at least central political authority, for the groups known as the Taliban.

I suppose this is the organism known as the Quetta shura, which drifts in and out of the news. But I wonder if even this group can really speak for all the tiny armed factions, sub-tribes and other groups capable of breaking the peace whenever they want to. Still,this suggests a way forward.

Arthur Blakely, US

The real cause of the Arab Spring

I write in reference to your news analysis Graft threatens gains of the Arab Spring (October 26). This is great work. It's actually the first piece I've read that clearly examines the real spark that lit the Arab spring: corruption.

Sean Harder, US

People usually wait their turns

Your writer Hugo Berger had a bad experience at an Etisalat counter (The culture of the queue, October 26) but I find that usually all nationalities in the UAE will wait their turn without rancour.

Some places let women move right to the front of the line, or have lines for women only. This surprises some of us from the West but as long as the rules are clearly stated, I find that people have no trouble waiting their turn.

Anna Engstrom, Abu Dhabi

Let's allow some use of fireworks

I refer to The perils of unlicensed fireworks (October 26).

Of course the authorities must prevent fires and injuries, and no one would dispute that.

But at Diwali or any time, fireworks can be a treat for everyone, not just Hindus. Some displays surely could be allowed, with proper supervision.

Philip D'Souza, Dubai