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Running a gauntlet

I feel compelled to comment on the story about the woeful driving of tourists. The woeful driving is not the sole domain of the tourists, however.

I live in Te Anau and whenever we go anywhere out of town, we have to run the gauntlet that is the Te Anau-Mossburn Highway.

On a recent trip, I was overtaken on two separate occasions in the most dangerous of places.

Both vehicles were local, so driven by New Zealand driver’s licence holders.

They would be familiar with the road so should be aware of the opportunities to pass, ie, not on double yellows and not right on corners that you can’t see around.

So yes, get tough on bad driving, just don’t get blinkered by the nationality of the driver. J Allen Te Anau

Changing times

The ‘‘times are a changing’’ sang Bob Dylan in 1964 and changing they certainly are with Nikki Haley’s recent speech at the UN.

At last a voice speaking the truth in that swamp that is the UN Security Council. https:/ /www.youtube.com/watch? v=Ev8q9iQIG30.

Nikki said in part: ‘‘The first thing I want to do is talk about what we just saw in there. The Security Council just finished its regular monthly meeting on Middle East issues. It’s the first meeting like that that I’ve attended, and I have to say it was a bit strange. The Security Council is supposed to discuss how to maintain international peace and security.

‘‘But at our meeting on the Middle East, the discussion was not about Hizbollah’s illegal buildup of rockets in Lebanon. It was not about the money and weapons Iran provides to terrorists. It was not about how we defeat ISIS. It was not about how we hold Bashar alAssad accountable for the slaughter of hundreds and thousands of civilians.

‘‘No, instead, the meeting focused on criticising Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East. I am new around here, but I understand that’s how the Council has operated, month after month, for decades.

‘‘I’m here to say the United States will not turn a blind eye to this any more.

‘‘I am here to underscore the ironclad support of the United States for Israel. I’m here to emphasise the United States is determined to stand up to the UN’s anti-Israel bias.

‘‘We will never repeat the terrible mistake of Resolution 2334 and allow one-sided Security Council resolutions to condemn Israel. Instead, we will push for action on the real threats we face in the Middle East’’.

You may recall that it was Murray McCully and New Zealand that sponsored Resolution 2334 in cahoots with three countries with very dubious human rights records just before Christmas. Yes, he was speaking for you and me!

And yet, apart from a standardised response, both McCully and English refuse to explain why they placed New Zealand on the wrong side of history and on the side of terrorists and despots. Chris Herud Winton

Test case yet to surface

What could be worse than New Zealand Corrections allowing United Kingdom nuclear weapons maker, Serco, to run the day-to-day activities at the Auckland South Corrections Facility men’s prison?

Violations of the New Zealand nuclear weapons-free zone law carry up to 10 years in prison. Aiding, abetting or encouraging overseas manufacture of nuclear weapons is a serious crime. However, it seems that a test case for it has yet to surface.

No-one can convince me that allowing a nuclear weapons maker to get prisoners back on the right side of the law is not showing huge respect and admiration for them and their disgustingly evil industry.

If that description seems too severe, then why did New Zealand declare itself nuclear free? Surely we take this law seriously. Law students could find it challenging to confront this apparent violation for a test case.

Richard Tingey, Murray Richard Tingey

Levin