D Monday, September 14, 2009 METRO 17 Spark it up: A fireworks display lights up the Forbidden City beside Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The display, a rehearsal, will be part a huge military parade and pageant on October 1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of communist China The Big Picture Wheres our drive? Liam Carrol: Not very popular I recently met a young person who has a dream, unlike most young Irish people who do their leaving certificate and only sweat over points and future careers. Yes, you guessed it: this person was not Irish. He believed in the adventure that is life. He believed in the exciting risk that comes with not spending his secondary school years being spoon- fed on the one hand, and being frightened about life by parents and society on the other. I presume, also, that he does not have to contend with these words and expressions much loved by Irish society: helplines, hotlines, school league tables, success, personal development, targets, comfort zone, fulfil your potential and failure. Hippy So this Liam Carrol guy is responsible for those ugly, badly built, over-priced shoe box apartments? Well I say throw the book at him and seize his assets! Nothing enraged me more during the boom years than cash-hungry property developers throwing up multi-storey prison-like apartments on any ten square yards of space they could find in Dublin, with no regard to the ascetics or heritage of the surrounding local area. Theyve scarred our city in much the same way as the awful developments that were carried out in the 70s, such as the Ballymun flats. Well have to live with these eyesores hes created for decades. If this man is bailed out, I swear Ill scream! Joe Dublins best-read letters page Metro Mail E-mail letters to mail@metroireland.ie with a name. Or text us. Text MAIL followed by comment and name to 53131. *Texts cost 30cent per message + standard network charges. SP. Oxygen8 Communications, Hospitality House, Cumberland Street South, D2. Customer service number 0818286606 talk to us Judge not: I dont judge or tell my daughter (who is over 18) what to do. However, if she did choose to make money in the sex trade, she certainly wouldnt want an unholy alliance of feminists and moralists telling her what to do! Jenny, Castleknock Mayday: Ryanair keep banging on about being the cheapest airline. But so they should with their lack of service, delays and the fact that it feels like the plane is going to fall apart in the sky! They get away with too much! Emma All aboard: Can drivers dropping passengers off at train stations in the mornings please consider commuters in a hurry to park their cars and pull in, instead of stopping and holding up all the vehicles behind you? Its very inconsiderate! Angry Commuter Help: Ah yes, so those who feel guilty because they do nothing to protect animal rights in this country have, predictably, responded defensively to the letter about the poor abused pony sold for 8 at the Smithfield Horse Market. If you dont want to help, fine. But please allow those with a conscience to do their bit! Lisa In Brief Jane, if we dont have children, whos going to support us when were old? That said, having no children in this country certainly means that you can live like a king! I have two children and get 300 in child benefits. Every month, I pay 1,200 worth of crche fees. I also pay for more food, a bigger house, more clothes etc. than I would have to if I had no children. This adds up to a total of well over 1,800 each month. Thats your tax break! Jay Rory must certainly have written his ill-advised letter to Metro in the hope of getting a response. I can see no other reason for his clear ignorance and outright stupidity! Many parts of the world are currently in the grip of the worst droughts in decades, a never-before- seen decline in rainfall although substantial in some parts of the world, its not collected has been seen worldwide and the water table is virtually depleted! And Rory fails to see why we should conserve this resource? MT Sendusyour txt Rory, less than one per cent of the Earths water is fresh water! Purifying water is expensive and charges are necessary to stop it being wasted! A Green BJ, you dont need to be qualified in anything to have an opinion! Otherwise, this page would filter out nearly every comment. Ste Thank you to the honest girl in Grafton Street who handed me back my wallet after it fell from my bag on Thursday. Sue To GL, you have to remember that the bus driver might have started at half five or six while you were still in bed! Looking-forward-to-break Driver To Gavin who wants to see child benefit abolished. I am a single mother of two, and child benefit is the only money I have to pay bills as my weekly money goes on food, rent and daily living. Without it wed be sunk! Sandra, D2 So Gavin wants no children and wants to be rewarded for it? A pity his parents werent as like-minded! Butoderick txt MAIL to 53131* Picture: AFP index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html