Slowly Does It

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As a expatriate working in Riyadh, I eagerly bought the latest edition of TIME, attracted by the cover story "Saudi Women's Quiet Revolution" by Andrew Lee Butters [Oct. 19]. But when I settled down to read the story I found that it had been censored and pages 23-24 were removed. I went back to the store to see if I could find a copy with the full article but they were all similarly censored. I guess that the cover headline but too slowly for some is all too true here in Saudi Arabia.
Name and address withheld

Europe in Step?
Michael Elliott's article "The Next Step" misunderstands the major issues that concern Britain, the Lisbon Treaty and membership of the European Union as a whole: the principles of sovereignty, democracy, transparency and accountability [Oct. 19]. Elliott refers to how convenient it would be for America, France and Germany if Britain, Poland and the Czech Republic "fall into line soon." That phrase should fill the people of Europe with dread. Democratic nations are a collection of people who are governed by those chosen to serve them. The majority of the people of Britain have no confidence in an expensive, faceless bureaucracy such as the E.U. I urge all Europeans to consider the potential consequences of union, since these consequences are likely to play out the current fears we all have over our economies — economies that have been wrecked largely by incompetent British and currently inconvenienced American power players.
Marissa Cockling, PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND

At a service to commemorate the sacrifice of British forces, the father of a deceased soldier refused to shake hands with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying that Blair had blood on his hands by sending troops to war on a false premise and underequipped. If Blair is guilty of such offenses, he should not be even considered for the role of President of Europe, despite being portrayed as a front runner.
Major Bob Ritchie MBE, LIVINGSTON, SCOTLAND

Your article about the European constitution and the anticipated resistance of the Conservative Party does not explain why this opposition exists. Quite simply, it is because a substantial proportion of the British people do not want to be in the E.U. The cause of this opposition lies in the increasing disempowerment of both the British individual and the British state. Moreover, the British taxpayer has to pay a very substantial amount of money to the E.U. each year, an organization that cannot, will not or dare not, tell us how it is all spent. Elliott makes the point that the U.S. wants Britain to be central to European policy; that's all very well, but it is increasingly clear that this is not what the people of Britain want. If Britain is a democracy then the will of her people alone should ultimately decide the outcome.
C.S. Lewis, DERBY, ENGLAND

Debating Detroit
I applaud TIME's decision to spend a year in Detroit looking at the city's and region's challenges and efforts at revitalization [Oct. 5]. However, I find it curious that you start intensive research into the city with an opinion piece by a resident of New York who left Michigan four decades ago. With all due respect to the acclaimed Daniel Okrent, simply reciting old grievances repeatedly rejected by voters, such as my having "resisted ... more stringent mileage standards," seems counterintuitive to the magazine's mission. I would ask that Okrent take another look at my work and the record, including my calling on the auto industry to take "bold, serious and 
 visionary" steps on fuel economy and my role in passing 2007's Energy Independence and Security Act, which increased fuel-economy standards 40%. I will continue to fight currency manipulation and unfair trade practices by our foreign competitors, work for affordable health-care coverage and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 80% by 2050 because I believe those positions are in the best interests of the people of Michigan.
John D. Dingell, U.S. Representative, 
15TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, MICHIGAN, U.S.