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As any professional will tell you, alcohol is mainly a problem for the young and poor who are ill-equipped to handle its affects and will greatly benefit from any enforced reduction in consumption caused by a rise in its price as well as the age at which it can be purchased for off-sales.

Middle aged higher earners, who can largely handle their drink and are unlikely to be found engaging in the nightly fracas in our city streets at closing time, may well quietly destroy their livers but will continue to do so unhindered in the privacy of their own homes.

The Scottish Government's consultation document on alcohol misuse is a proportionate response to a very real problem and I note that the British Medical Association (who would be the first to admit that they include a large number of alcoholics in their membership) has been quick to lend its support to the proposals.

Sincerely,

John Eoin Douglas 
Edinburgh

Voters in Ireland have rejected the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty in a referendum by 53.4% to 46.6%.

What is deeply disturbing is why only the Irish Republic allowed its people to vote

The cowards and hypocrites in Labour and Lib Dems promised us a vote on the new constitution at the last General Election, then in the House of Lords voted to prevent us having our vote

Never mind the UK invading Iraq to restore Democracy. May be we should ask the Irish Republic liberate the UK to restore Democracy here?

Councillor Steve Radford
President of The Liberal Party
41 Sutton Street
Tuebrook
Liverpool
L13 7EG
0151 259 5935
07920090322

HE Hamid Karzai President of the Republic
Kabul - Afghanistan
Paris, 11 June 2008 



Dear Mr. President,

Reporters Without Borders urges you, on the eve of tomorrow's conference in Paris on Afghanistan's development and reconstruction, to give a clear
undertaking that your government will protect press freedom, which is currently under so much threat in your country.

Press freedom has, it is true, been one of the achievements of reconstruction in the almost seven years since the fall of the Taliban regime. Afghanistan has around 300 newspapers, 14 of them dailies, more than 10 privately-owned TV and radio stations and seven news agencies.
Afghanistan has never had so many news media and journalists. But violence against the press is growing steadily. In the past 12 months, Reporters Without Borders has registered no fewer that 18 physical attacks on journalists, 23 death threats, 14 arrests and four abductions. Dozens of other journalists have been forced to resign because of outside pressure.

We are seeing steady reports of both food price rises and shortages across the Globe.

A significant cause of this are the protectionist policies of the EU and USA. The restrictive tariffs around them deter the production in and export of food from the third world.

It also results in food prices rises within those trade areas being higher than a global market would determine

The artificial surplus of food is then either stored or dumped on the third world. this in turn damages the profitability of third world farmers

If we are truly concerned to encourage long term production of food in the third world and reducing our own food prices , then the EU must immediately drop its tariffs and subsidies. Free Trade benefits everyone, Tariffs damage EU consumers and tax payers and harms the third world economy

Without doubt Trade is far beneficial than token aid

Cllr Steve Radford
President of the Liberal Party
41 Sutton Street
Tuebrook
Liverpool
L13 7EG
0151 259 5935
07920090322