Letters@oxfordstudent.com
Dear Sir and Madam
In the midst of addressing a timely and important issue, the feature on "dealing the debt" (Features, 27th January) fell into hyperbole by characterising the IMF as a "totalitarian financial institution".
If the provision of development assistance with strings attached is oppressive, does the fund have an obligation not to exercise discretion and disperse unlimited aid?
The history of foreign aid is one of failure. There has been a strong correlation between the receipt of development assistance and developmental stagnation.
Meanwhile, countries that have largely eschewed aid and focused upon creating reliable markets, such as South Korea and Botswana, have experienced significant poverty reduction due to economic growth.
Whilst we ought to cancel the debts that poor nations have inherited, developing countries really need institutions that promote trade, not aid.
Jonathan Dingel
Lady Margaret Hall
Dear Sir and Madam,
I read with pleasure Venetia Hendy's article advocating shopping for males (Fashion, 27th February) in every sense of the words. Now, I have worn clothes for much of my life, and thus feel I am entitled to comment.
The article proffers a few gems of advice, one of which I put into practice in the last week: "Wear something unusual that perhaps their dad wore in the sixties."
Unfortunately, my eyes unwittingly attached an 'ir' to the penultimate word, and in his sixties my Dad wore sleeveless cardigans and matching socks - and sometimes a marvellous garment that combined the two, simply through the ingenious utilisation of string.
Sadly, this did not go down well, as the string has a propensity to become unravelled. The article suggests, "just wear something unusual and you'll have girls falling at your feet."
I can only say that Miss Hendy's imaginative use of metaphor is more literal than she realises.
Simon Thomas
Magdalen College
Dear Sir and Madam,
Nothing turns me on so much as good grammar. A well-constructed sentence is the perfect aphrodisiac. Conversely, the slightest linguistic lapse leaves me cold for days. Please help me by removing the 'm' from the words "whomever you are" which introduce Will Brown's otherwise wonderful column.
A fastidious deer
Magdalen deer park
Dear Sir and Madam,
Peter Cardwell's column (27th Jan) was a downright disgrace.
First of all, let me remind him that the "right wing nutcases" to which he refers have a far greater argument than he gives credit for. There is nothing extremist, hateful or racist about questioning the logic of welcoming another 60,000 people a year to a country that already struggles to provide for its own students, pensioners, and homeless.
As for looking to that most respected of institutions, the UN, for moral guidance, I will do so when they don't advocate Libya as a valuable leader of the human rights committee, and when their Secretary General is not wrapped up in a billion-dollar oil for food scandal which saw money designed to feed the poor being drained away by bureaucrats, warlords and terrorists.
His ignorance of the issue displayed at the start of his piece is matched only by his unwarranted arrogance in criticising George W. Bush.
Irresponsible? Maybe, but at least he's actually confronting the problems of the world rather than doing indecent things with his White House intern, as was the case with every Bush hater's favourite President, Bill Clinton. Uneducated? Try telling that to everyone else who's been to Harvard and Yale. Unelected? Try investigating the reasons behind the US electoral college system before shooting your mouth off about 2000, as well as taking a quick glance at the 2004 results which saw Bush win more votes than any candidate in American history.
A Nuremberg-style rally? Please - comparing the Republicans to the Nazis only lowers his standing as a writer. No-one questioned the lavish ceremonies which welcomed FDR, JFK and Clinton. It appears that it's only Republicans who have to endure the monotonous and laughable criticism of the foolish. If you don't like the man being inaugurated, fine - but don't snipe at their customs.
The writer searches for the worst journalist in Britain. He should rejoice, safe in the knowledge that his article confirms that such an entity has indeed been found.
Timothy Stafford
St Anne's College
3rd Feb 2005