Insensitive remarks by US presidential candidate Donald Trump at a ceremony to honour a fallen Muslim American soldier who served in the Iraq war shows Mr Trump as an emotionless man who is clearly disconnected with American voters (Can US voters see beyond racism?, August 3).
At a time when any politician would normally try to assuage confused voters and win them over, Mr Trump lambasted the parents of the soldier, thereby attacking the Muslim community, but failing to recognise the sacrifices of those very “aliens” for the country. Demonising every Muslim and every immigrant as an ideal riposte to terrorism will prove costly to his campaign.
It’s unfortunate that Muslims and immigrants have become targets in a country that touts itself as the arsenal of democracy.
Ultimately, Mr Trump has become the residue of George Bush’s antiterrorism campaign – a war that produced no weapons of mass destruction and relegated Iraq to a fragmented state, worsening world peace and giving rise to ISIL.
Mr Trump’s vitriol needs to be checked if he is serious about running the world’s most powerful country.
AR Modak, South Africa
New rule on traffic fine can yield result
Regarding the news item Forcing UAE expats to pay traffic fines before travelling could 'change behaviour' (August 3), if a person is forced to pay fines before he leaves the country, and if the amount is high, he would really be more careful while driving.
Dina Abou-Zahr, Abu Dhbai
Could this not be a general rule applicable to all? In some countries, you can be jailed if you do not pay fines.
Jussi Myllymaa, Dubai
Fines are clearly not a deterrent (Make fines a better form of deterrence, August 3). The point system is the best solution. Accrue too many points and the licence is suspended.
Cameras are also clearly not a deterrent – heavy police presence is the only answer to ensuring law and order on the road.
James Holmes, Dubai
There was a lady who racked up fines worth over Dh200,000. Those fines obviously didn’t stop her.
Pam Granados-Alfredo, Dubai
Seriousness about the point system, long temporary bans on offending drivers and sentencing an offender to community service seem to be the answer.
Saif Omar Al Suwaidi, Sharjah
Shisha ban in Singapore
The ban on the import, distribution and sale of shisha in Singapore is sad (The heart of Singapore's Muslim quarter loses its beat as shisha ban comes into force, August 1).
In this regard, Malaysia is a better place as there are plenty of affordable shisha cafes where people can spend as much time as they want without any concern that someone might be watching them.
Gaby Priestley, Dubai
This is good news. I hope the UAE does the same. Shisha is a killer.
Alwaleed Aladawi, Abu Dhabi
I support this move. One reason why I love Singapore so much is that it really cares about public health. It’s a healthy country that I love to visit.
Um Malak, Dubai
Support the reading drive
It is heartening to know that the public library in Fujairah is seeing a 70 per cent increase in visitors (Fujairah libraries seeing more new faces as UAE's Year of Reading takes hold, July 30).
The credit goes to the Year of Reading campaign that has successfully underscored to young people the importance of reading. But this campaign can succeed only if schools and parents support the initiative. They should encourage children to spend more time in libraries. This is important as most children enjoy reading in such environments rather than sitting at home and reading.
Anna Neciosup, US
