I have suffered
Yes, whether we like it or not, racial profiling is here to stay. I (an Indian) was picked out (and body searched, albeit with my consent) from a line of passengers waiting to board a flight, while in transit at London during the summer of 2004. During a recent vacation to Austria, another UAE family and mine were the only ones whose passports were asked for by the airport authorities when we were disembarking. Good job by the airport staff for carrying out orders and thanks for the discriminatory treatment.
From Mr A. Kini
Abu Dhabi

An old story
I refer to your editorial 'An un-British way of doing things' (Gulf News, August 17). There is nothing "un-British" about racial profiling. Ask anyone what travelling through Heathrow airport means if you're of Asian ethnicity. You'll learn that racial profiling in Britain is as old as the country itself.
From Mr Z. Doogar
Ontario, Canada

Time to talk
This is with reference to the latest development in UK airports, and the innocent passengers stranded at the airport. Violence is not the answer to problems. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has to handle it diplomatically and at the same time create confidence in his government.
From Mr K. Ragavan
Ajman

A messy dish?
Master chef George Bush (US president) and his assistant Tony Blair (British Prime Minister) were trying to cook up a Middle East dish making it tastier by using Israel as their frying pan. They realised that the frying pan was not strong enough to beat the heat of the Lebanese resistance. So now they are trying to hide their faces behind terror plots.
From Mr M.A.S. Mohammad
Dubai

No winners
Now that the guns have fallen silent in Lebanon and helpless civilians are returning to their broken homes, it is time to review the key issues in this crisis, which has cost over 1,500 human lives, wounded over 3,000 and pulverised countless homes and buildings. The current debate as to who has won the war is indeed puerile and bizarre. There are no victors. When 1,500 lives are lost, everyone loses. Only the manufacturers of arms, bombs and rockets in various countries are victorious, for they get new contracts.
From Mr R.K. Aneja
Dubai

What is the truth?
The US worked urgently to end the violence, not aggressive war by Israel. Still it took one month. Why? In one month, Israel has been able to ruin Lebanon. To America, it was "Hezbollah and its sponsors" not Israel that imposed violence.
From Mr M.S.R. Khan
Rajasthan, India

Tech criminals
I read the article "Phishing raises UAE banks' IT security bill" (Gulf News, August 16). The only real solution to this constant fraudster evolution is back-end fraud detection. That would help even if the unwitting consumer gives the keys to a fraudulent site or criminal the criminal can't use the information without raising flags at the financial institution.
From Ms M. Metzger
Texas, US

Cheaper solution
Until now the focus was on how local users of programs such as Skype are suffering because someone decided to block sites. Well, the international crowd, business and private, located outside the UAE are even more frustrated by it. Numerous international businesses have integrated VoIP communication in their business strategy to expand commercial activities with a sound grip on costs.
From Mr C.W.M. Nieboer
Dubai

Too much spam
I wonder whether anyone has noticed the abnormal increase in the amount of spam arriving in the Emirates Internet inbox, especially during the last three to four weeks. I for one never give out my local e-mail address to anyone other than personal friends. So that begs the question: How and where do spammers get hold of local e-mail addresses?
From Mr S.R. Raghavan
Abu Dhabi

The Management of Etisalat replies: As a policy, Etisalat does not sell or disclose user e-mail addresses to third parties as per our Internet Privacy Policy, which recognises privacy concerns of our users.

Spammers use a number of techniques to collect e-mail addresses, such as internet newsgroups, promotions including online competitions that require submission of e-mail details, e-mail addresses from personal websites, through use of spambots, which are programs designed to collect e-mail addresses from the internet in order to build mailing lists for sending unsolicited e-mails.

No place to rest
Everybody thinks that we live in a highly developed country. However, if people can't have decent accommodation to rest after a hard day's work, then where is the quality life that people boast of?
From Ms F. Antao
Dubai

Why not Hindi?
Is India independent? I really do wonder if India is independent. On India's independence day, not a single radio or TV channel had any Indian talking Hindi to either express or wish their compatriots on the occasion. Everybody was talking in English. I carefully watched the Pakistan Independence Day celebrations, where all were talking in Urdu.
From Mr S. Asif
Dubai

Too many planets
I am not an astronomer ("Scientists may name three more planets", Gulf News, August 17). The proposed definition of a "planet" and re-classification of Pluto's moon Charon as a planet, in my opinion, contradicts each other. If Charon is a planet, then, so is our own moon. By the new standards, I guess, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of planets in our solar system.
From Mr B. Mannaravalappil
North Carolina, US