Left to herself Myra would probably never have harmed anyone but when young she

Left to herself Myra would probably never have harmed anyone but when young she became besotted with a psychopath. The tariff imposed by the trial judge would have brought her freedom some 20 years ago. Its latest marketing sound- bite seems to be: "Be happy, eat foods sprayed with fewer chemicals." What do we have to do to make Monsanto understand that we don't want foods with fewer chemicals. We want foods with no added chemicals at all: neither sprayed on, nor processed into them, nor generated from within by artificial genes JOANNA CLARKE Glasgow. Sir: Having received a late Christmas card from Myra Hindley, I suggest that the time has come to free her. He or she must not be from within a social work or legal community which allows this to happen.BRIAN MORGANCardiff. Sir: It is frightening to read how blinkered Monsanto is ("GM food banned in Monsanto canteen", 22 December).

Sir: The prospect of there being someone children can telephone directly about their plight in care is a welcome one ("Ministers look at ombudsman for children plan", 27 December). But this will only be a real improvement for them if local authorities and their carers end the current practice, in some cases, of refusing such children private access to a telephone and enforcing this with injunctions. Well-meaning proposals must also recognise that care for some children begins as soon as the local authority begins Children Act 1989 proceedings, which in complex cases may last for as much as a year. When children in care in these circumstances seek outside help their attempts are usually blocked by severe High Court injunctions making it impossible for their voices to be heard.The person appointed to be a children's commissioner must not tolerate this. An end-of-century bell would toll for the Somme, Guernica, Kristallnacht, Stalin's collectivisation, the Warsaw Ghetto, Dresden, Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Sharpeville, Mao's "cultural revolution", Vietnam, Cambodia, Rwanda, the "disappeared" of Chile, Afghanistan, Lockerbie, Bosnia, Kosovo and so many more. In our celebration of a new millennium, we should reflect on the suffering that man has inflicted on man in this, our century in the names of state and personal power, ideology, religious difference and racial superiority.G W THYNNECoulsdon, Surrey. Sir: The century began with British concentration camps in South Africa It is going out with Russia's brutal actions in Chechnya. In between there have been two world wars, acts of genocide and seemingly countless instances of oppression, torture, and atrocities. If he can't pull that off, he could lose his place in history (Hirsh Goodman).

He has to pass a budget, keep together a coalition, negotiate with the Syrians, and hold final-status talks with the Palestinians Fortunately, he has broad shoulders and a steady hand. Despite the enormity of the challenges, his performance in recent months gives hope that they will be well met The real test lies in the referendum. It would be best, of course, were this economics czar to come with a full-fledged socio-economic viewpoint. Now and then there is some discussion of recruiting an economic leader from outside the political system.

To this end, Benjamin Netanyahu tried to cultivate Jacob Frenkel, and for a period he relied on Yaakov Ne'eman Such efforts have been inconclusive. No academics, nobody from the business sector, no current or past officials in the Finance Ministry - nobody has entered into the political arena with a staunch commitment to win public support for a decisive economic policy.Jerusalem PostEhud Barak's life is not easy these days. He will have no free time to wage any other campaigns, certainly not on the socio-economic front Ehud Barak cannot do it alone He needs an economic leader by his side. Barak repeatedly draws a comparison between the imposing burdens that he is carrying and those which David Ben-Gurion faced The analogy is apt The "battle" for peace is more than a full-time job. After a century that included the Holocaust and war, the Jewish state seems finally to be exhausted. Mesmerized by the beguiling undulations of the cape, which moves with softness, comfort and color, it does not see the sword, which waits with motionless discipline for the cape to fall.Virtual JerusalemIsrael needs a prime minister for the economy.