The paradox of Tony Blair's religious belief

The article Blair seeks 'the true face of faith' (November 30) described the former British prime minister's visit to Abu Dhabi in support of his Tony Blair Faith Foundation. This reminded me how disingenuous and slippery some political leaders can be. The concept of interfaith groups and the bringing together of different faiths for common good is to be praised.

However, unless I am mistaken, it was this self-righteous, pious, and non-remorseful character that took the UK to war under a false pretext. Mr Blair has yet to show remorse and he even stated that his faith gave him strength, resolve and steadfastness in his duty to go to war with Iraq.

Mr Blair is a rightly demonised  character among many segments of the UK populace, and a legal contingent thinks he still should stand trial for war crimes. He has been shown to be highly skilled in a duplicitous media approach.

The interfaith man of peace abroad and the man who preached war at home. Perhaps he is trying to manufacture his post prime ministerial legacy to offset the damage and deaths he was responsible for in Iraq.

Adil Ali, Abu Dhabi

Scarce coverage of Ashes series

The National has lived up to its reputation. England scores 517/1d and cricket news has made it into your esteemed newspaper (Changes likely in Australia's bowling attack, November 30), along with a full rear page photo of Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain.

For the sake of more cricket coverage, I do hope England wins the 2nd Test, otherwise we will be left once again with reading exciting coverage of Wigan vs West Ham United.

Anwar Khan, Dubai

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I am a big supporter of The National and thoroughly enjoy reading your paper.  As an Englishman, however, I am astonished that for two days running there was no coverage of the Ashes Test Series between England and Australia.

Given the large English and Australian community in the UAE, it is staggering that The National seems to have overlooked the most important sporting contest between these two countries (and possibly the biggest sporting story globally, at the moment).

Ed Hills, Dubai

Change lost by parking meters

In reference to Georgia Lewis' opinion article Meters needed to end parking issues (November 24) why do the meters take predetermined amounts of money for fixed periods of one hour instead of allocating time against the amount of money you put in? We have several prepaid parking cards with only one dirham left on each so they can only be thrown away as a result. Is that policy?

Peter Dew, Abu Dhabi

Elvis is the king of holiday music

In reference to the article Sounds of the Season (November 26), Mariah Carey's 1994 album Merry Christmas could not be the biggest holiday album if it sold 12 million copies around the world.

Elvis Presley's 1957 album Elvis' Christmas Album has been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America for 12 million copies shipped in North America alone.

Wikipedia indicates that the album has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide.

Steve Silva, Abu Dhabi

On the question of sponsonship

In reference to the news article FNC to debate sponsorship system (November 29), I look forward to hearing the Minister of Labour Saqr Ghobash's comments on the issue.

I think the UAE would benefit from changing the sponsorship system just as Bahrain has already done. It feels like history is moving in that direction. I would hope the UAE doesn't straggle behind the other Gulf states.

Matt Duffy, Abu Dhabi

A new meaning to an old word

Justin Thomas's opinion article Hollow holiday greetings celebrate the new age of 'cant' (November 29) lamented the loss of the old word "cant" from common usage.

I have to share a moment from a Houston radio show in the 1990s. The hosts Stevens and Prewitt would share an acronym every morning on their show and the one I always remember was C-A-N-T.

It stands for Corporate Animal, No Talent.

I hope Justin Thomas appreciates the sympathetic theme here with the many MBA-bearing aspiring high flyers littering our business offices and trotting out their jargon and cliché-ridden language enabled by modern communications technology.

Steve Thompson, Abu Dhabi