April 18, 2008
I have just watched and tried very hard to listen to your item on tonight’s Newsnight about the White Paper on Education. However, I found it impossible to concentrate on the important issues being discussed because of all those revolting images of sausages, minced meat and blue rubber gloves! No, I am not an extreme vegetarian! I cannot see however how those irrelevant and unnecessary visual images could possibly add to or clarify the serious debate about our education system. This paper marks a, possibly very significant, shift in our education system; we need to listen to the arguments and reflect on the implications of the paper without unpleasant and distracting visual images. I am finding the use of visual imagery is
ethnic dating site intruding on many news programmes and current issues discussions.
Irene Knott, Nottingham
I have just switched off your discussion of the education bill in disgust - this is a bill which does not refer to Northern Ireland or Scotland and yet the differences between the systems in the various parts of the UK were neither mentioned nor used in your discussion. Why should I pay a licence fee to listen to a discussion which takes no account of the educational system where my children go to school? Please repay that proportion of my licence fee which funded this entirely anglocentric programme (despite the accent of the presenter). If you are the BBC you are the BBC - all of the time! Otherwise, let’s have a Scottish Newsnight for the whole of the programme. Thanks for the early night!
Cairns Craig, Aberdeen
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50 chickens? What is the government’s line on counting chickens before they hatch? Personally, I’m more interested in eggs of the chocolate kind - no danger of bird flu there.
Katy Voisey, Nottingham
If chickens can be vaccinated against bird flu, why can’t humans?
William Few, London
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Although it is sad to see the results of these prisoners inflicting serious injury, the have been put there because they themselves have broken the law, and a court has seen fit to sentence them to prison. Secondly, during the subsequent interview with Baroness Scotland, there was no mention at all of the victims. It is all well and good giving them the best facilities, and looking after them, with this multi-disciplinary organisation called the prison service, but I feel more should be done for the victim of their crime.
Paul Brough, Wakefield West Yorkshire
Read Newsnight’s response to your comments
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A moan about dismal BBC coverage of anything vaguely to do with science or engineering. The report about nuclear power in Finland suggested the reactor being built was big. Great. How big? 400 yards or 1300MW? If around 1300MW it was probably based on the Framatome design built already at Chooz on the Franco-Belgian border and operating since around 1998. Also broadly similar to Sizewell B - a 4 steam generator PWR. If not, then something different and therefore important, as the Finns have usually built Boiling Water Reactors rather than PWRs. Couldn’t someone have said? It does matter. The cost is also highly important. If the Framatome consortium are building a (single?) reactor for 2 billion at today’s money, somebody could have found out that a 1200MW at Sizewell cost 3 billion at 1995 prices. In view of the policy issues being discussed, the money being splashed about is highly important, particularly if it is funny money and a loss leader for a growing nuclear market in Europe, as Greenpeace have asserted.
Phil Saunders, Bungay
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Your item about education for children with Special Needs was very good, especially the highlighting of the true costs of “including” a child with special needs into mainstream school. However, I was very disappointed that none of the children featured had a learning disability as these children are the hardest to include and the least able to represent themselves. I think it would be interesting to your viewers to see the reality of caring for, parenting and providing for a child with learning disability, especially in the context of education.
Deirdre Yager, London
I have just read with interest your article on special needs education. As a parent of a special needs daughter whose chosen school is 14 miles away, can I highlight that one of the main issues with getting a child to their chosen school is transport. Quite often parents exhausted by the education battle then have to fight for transport. There is no duty for LEAs to provide transport for special needs and in many cases by simply refusing transport, access to the best school is denied. Unlike many special needs children our daughter is lucky she is going to the best school for her needs and has transport.
Jeanine Blamires, Keighley
ABU GHRAIB PICTURES 15 February 2006
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I am concerned that you saw fit to give so much time to the pictures of prisoners in Iraq being abused
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It seems to me that there is another cover-up on the Abu Ghraib issue. The first photos only gave the impression of some of the curious sexual perversions of US soldiers and they were punished for it, but the 2nd batch of photos were of murder and they were covered-up. The ethnic dating were also protected and never punished. This seems to negate the claims of the US that wrong-doers are held accountable in the US. This being the case, what difference is there between Saddam’s thugs and the US military?
LL Lai, Penang, Malaysia
I am concerned that you saw fit to give so much time to the pictures of prisoners in Iraq being abused. Yes, it is bad that this has happened, but it is old news and we have had our fill of the disgusting pictures you showed. Also it will not help our soldiers out there to inflame the situation as you have done. Leave such disgraceful things to the mindless gutter press!
E M Stevenson, Derby
After careful consideration, I am coming to the conclusion Tony Blair is right to insist on the word “glorification” in the new terror bill. The word “glorification” has no legal meaning in our law, therefore it cannot be cited as grounds for prosecution. However, if the word “glorification” was included in the new terror bill it would then need to be afforded a meaning in law. Once glorification has a legal meaning then it can be used across all our laws; even those concerning attaining British citizenship. Immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, etc, will be subject to all laws that will include the misuse of “glorification”, and thus provide legal boundaries to which afore-mentioned people must abide, regardless of their religion, faith, culture.
Alvim Bennett, Colchester
I am pleased that the offence of glorifying terrorism has finally been recognised. This is especially true as I consider the US/British invasion of Iraq to be terrorism. It would be impossible to otherwise define the pre-invasion bombing designated “shock and horror” or the use of weapons of mass destruction such as spent uranium cartridges. I will be pleased therefore that Mr Blair will no longer be able to justify the war without fear of being arrested for glorifying terrorism.
Peter Lees, Radstock
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