Dear George Osborne,
I wish to express my concern at the recent changes to the budget concerning the Climate Change Levy.
Although I appreciate it probably does make economic sense for the next few years, I feel that it is a backwards step to tax renewable energy sources in the same way as fossil fuels.
The decision to remove Levy Exemption Certificates completely contradicts the original intentions of the Levy, which was to effectively act as a "carbon tax" so decreasing the relative desirability of greenhouse gas-producing energy sources.
The changes now render that obsolete, instead just charging energy production methods indiscriminately, a major blow to renewable sources which will inevitably involve investment in these early days.
The rapid rate of consumption of...
Politics
Like so many children around the world, those in Syria should be looking forward to the new school term. Instead too many are being forced to flee their homes in search of safety as the conflict deteriorates. More than four million children are now in need of aid in what has become the largest humanitarian operation in history, with one million children now seeking refuge in neighbouring countries – the equivalent to all the children in Wales being uprooted and left homeless.
Despite the political attention on Syria, the humanitarian response to this crisis and the children caught up in it is at risk of being forgotten. In Syria itself, almost one out of every five schools has been damaged, destroyed or is being used as a shelter for displaced families. Across the region, children are...
3,684
Dear Mr. Obama,
I have little hope that you'll ever read this, but I have to get this off my chest. Since 1993, our military personnel, many of whom have had extensive weapons training including sidearms, have not been allowed to carry weapons openly or concealed on military properties. Yet on your watch the following incidents have occurred:
2009 – Fort Hood, 13 killed, 29 wounded–many permanently disabled
2009 – Arkansas recruiting station, one killed, a second wounded
2010 – Pentagon shooting by a 9/11 truther, two wounded
2013 – Washington Navy Yard shooting, 13 killed, three injured
2014 – Norfolk Naval Base, one killed
2014 – Fort Hood – AGAIN – three killed, 14 injured
2015 – Chattanooga, 4 Marines at the Navy Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center...
2,584
Dear Senator Flake and Senator McCain,
Thursday night I heard a banging knock at the door. I looked through the window and immigration agents asked me to open the door, conducting an “investigation.” They asked for Maria, my mother, and as soon she stepped out they abruptly, forcefully pulled her out and handcuffed her in front of me and Angel, my 16 year old brother. They also detained my older brother for no cause. Angel pointed out to them that they needed to take her medications because of her cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. They laughed in his face, then ignored him. I felt helpless. Under this horrific scenario I didn’t know what else to do. I wanted to run and pull them both away from them but I couldn’t.
I spent an entire night crying and lonely. At every corner of...
2,522
Dear David Cameron and George Osborne,
I am 17 years old. I am writing this letter because I am disgusted by what you have done to people of my age and hard working families like my own.
You pretend to care about people in hard situations and that you want to help people who are struggling to make ends meet, feed their children and want to better themselves. However, it is those very people that bear the weight of the cuts that your government has put into place, as if their own stresses and struggles weren't enough. You do not cut bankers bonuses, take pay cuts or make huge corporations pay the taxes they evade, all of which would be more useful to the economy than getting rid of help for students or cutting benefits.
You say that you want a more independent society, own whose...
2,848
Dear Premier Clark and Minister Cadieux,
Thank you for your response to our 2014 BC Child Poverty Report Card dated December 22, 2014. We decided to write this response as an open letter, as many of the points made in your correspondence are being repeated by government spokespeople in the media and we want to give people hearing them a full understanding of the credibility of our research.
First of all, we are glad to hear that your government believes that one child living in poverty is one child too many. We agree wholeheartedly.
Given this belief, we are puzzled by other aspects of your response. BC is about to introduce a budget with a surplus. In this context, and recalling BC’s obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)...
2,839
Esteemed North Carolina Leaders,
Recently, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed Executive Order No. 76, Governor's Task Force on Mental Health and Substance Use.
I am writing you because you are one of the following: the Governor, a co-chair, or a named member of the task force. I will try to send paper copies to all of you.
First, may I say this is overdue, and I'm glad this was put into effect. I have struggled with mental illness for most of my life. In fact, it has been over 30 years that I was diagnosed. In that time I have seen my state of North Carolina cut funding for mental health and drug abuse. I understand our economy has many pitfalls, but I have never been sure why health of any kind has been a low priority in our state.
I have spent decades trying to get...
2,956
Dear Simon,
Following your appearance on the Andrew Marr Show and your interview in The Times yesterday I wanted to register some concerns about some of your comments.
You are right to encourage all parties, including the food industry, to play an active role in tackling obesity. However, we believe obesity is a complex problem which cannot be reduced to the demonisation of one ingredient, nor can it be right that an everyday ingredient such as sugar is characterised as a poison.
We welcome the Prime Minister's commitment that all parties should have an active role in tackling the problem. For many years, FDF members have taken a responsible, proactive and collaborative approach to public health. We are fully committed to working with government to ensure that industry is part of...
2,954
Dear Premier Wynne:
I am writing to ask your government to bring accountability and transparency to Ontario chicken prices. Under supply management, producers have full control over the price, but refuse to divulge their secret pricing formula.
In a recent Globe and Mail article entitled “It’s time to ensure Canada’s food pricing formulas are transparent, fair,” Mr. Geri Kamenz of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission characterized the province’s current chicken pricing formula as “a black box that few people understand,” adding “this is just not good enough for the 21st century.” He also revealed the commission has attempted “to prod farmers for three years now to come up with a fair and transparent pricing scheme.” This outdated production framework harms business and...
2,756
Dear Premier and the Victorian Government,
We are writing to you today to call for a commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of all Victorians, and preventing avoidable causes of illness, through a continued investment in state-wide preventive health strategies in the 2015 state budget.
Obesity and ‘lost wellbeing’ from obesity are estimated to cost Australia around $58.2 billion a year1, and poor nutrition and high body mass have overtaken tobacco use as the greatest burden of disease in Australia. Nearly two thirds of Australian adults and one quarter of children are considered overweight or obese2. Yet only 6% of Australian adults eat the recommend amount of fruits and vegetables each day3, and more than one third of our daily energy intake comes from energy dense,...
2,870