Council should explain attack on Christmas

Sir,—I am writing on behalf of the Dundee Evangelical Christian Alliance, which represents more than 20 churches and hundreds of Dundee citizens.

Whilst we greatly appreciate the efforts made by Dundee City Council to encourage the festive season, we are truly surprised to read that the authority has renamed the Christmas Lights as Winter Light Night.

Why the sudden change?

We have read of other local authorities renaming Christmas, Winterval, but we did not think Dundee City Council would follow suit.

There is absolutely no pressure from the other faiths for a change of name.

In fact, they are happy to see Christmas celebrated.

Has the idea come from the secularists who want all expressions of Christianity removed from public life?

We are deeply disappointed and wish to state that we support fully the stance taken by Dundee Presbytery of the Church of Scotland. We hope and pray that the council will reconsider the idea of removing Christ from the Christmas season.

Democratic deficit exposed

Sir,—With reference to Tom McDonald’s letter (November 14), it is more of a nightmare than a bad dream. The Christmas lights are not only dimming on Dundee tradition but on democracy generally.

The Greeks invented democracy to get rid of the tyranny of rule by minority.

We have come full circle where a minority can, once again, impose its will on the majority.

And it is down to such a fine art that officials employed by the majority authority robotically insult majority feelings to appease the minority.

Such officials subscribe, as they have been taught, to multiculturalism, which essentially is the apartheid of communities, where one minority community is more important than the rest combined. We have been subjected to this politically correct philosophy for more than 30 years now, emanating from the little-reported Euro-Arab Dialogue.

This year no Christmas lights, next year the Hajj?

Reverse SNP Christmas ban

Sir,—It is odd this year’s Christmas event in Dundee will include a continental market but no mention of Christmas. On the Continent, these events are stilled called Christmas Markets.

It is also odd that it is not the politically correct members of the previous Dundee City Council Labour Administration that have introduced this ban on the word Christmas—but the SNP.

Symbolism of red poppy

Sir,—I believe Mrs Scott (November 14) has not fully understood the significance of the red poppy and the act of remembrance.

By purchasing and wearing the red poppy, we achieve several purposes.

We remember all those who have sacrificed their lives so we can live our lives in freedom, under a democratic system.

The money donated goes to help others who have been injured or indeed maimed in conflicts.

This is particularly poignant at this moment while we are at war in Afghanistan, with its high level of casualties.

It does not matter if you agree with the war or not, what matters is that we support our servicemen and women who are there doing their bit on our behalf.

No-one glorifies war by wearing a red poppy.

To say so misses the whole point.

Both my grandfathers served in the first world war and my father served in the second world war.

They taught me to remember all those young people who lost their lives so I could be free,

Not once did they talk of any glory—just of young people who lie in foreign lands.

I do not apologise for the cliches used to describe the importance of remembrance and ask Mrs Scott to have a closer look at what the red poppy means.

Misleading statements

Sir,—I simply cannot allow Alistair Wilson (November 13) to make grossly inaccurate statements without challenge.

In particular, he claims that the issue of man-made global warming is “an issue long settled by the scientific community”.

This is so not true as to be derisory.

One major dissenting group of scientists, numbering in the hundreds, signed the so-called Manhattan Declaration in 2008, which included the statement that they, “affirm CO2 is not a pollutant but a necessity of life”.

Then there was the recent quote on the US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration website, which read, “While CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing over the past 100 years, there is no evidence that this is causing an increase in global temperatures”.

Space prevents me from providing further examples of scientists with similar views but they are as many as those of the opposite persuasion.

That any global warming is man-made is simply not a settled view.

Perhaps Mr Wilson could tell us what evidence he is referring to when he asserts that there is a “vast majority of scientific evidence” supporting his views?

Yes, the climate is changing and no-one is denying that.

But there are far more natural events (such as solar activity and ocean currents) in force causing this than the influence of man.

Whinfield Gardens,

Kinross.