On the agenda today: council services, religion, benefits, energy, potholes and Abertay University.
One bin collection doesn’t make a Spring!
Sir,-It must be spring. Today, for the second time since November, our bins have been emptied.
This is not a complaint the road has been iced up and dangerous, indeed there was fresh snow again today.
Life is possible, if harder, without council services.
Hector Maclean.Balnaboth,Kirriemuir.
Human failings betray dictators
Sir,-Stephen Moreton (February 18) bases his arguments for atheism on Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin.
When dictators control people through their personal ideologies they are placing themselves in the position of God but with all the failings of the human nature.
In North Korea the leader, Kim Il Sung, based everything on the Bible but he replaced God with himself to form one of the most repressive regimes imaginable. When man takes control, do not expect to live in peace.
Of all the belief systems in the world there is only one that does not rely on man’s effort. Why not check them out?
Robert Scott.44 Glamis Road,Forfar.
Atheism is still a faith
Sir,-The atheistic correspondents M. Duncan and S. Moreton (February 17 and 18), in the context of arguing against faith schools, try to pretend that atheism is not a faith by claiming that it is “an absence of belief in any god”. This is no different from saying atheism is a belief in no god that is, it is a faith.
This being so, it is not surprising that they would seek to argue against the provision of a religious education in faith schools, for if this was to happen, it in fact would be a promotion of atheistic faith dogma.
Because of their faith, atheists are unlikely, for example, to go to church on Sundays to worship. Thus for M. Duncan to argue that belief has “no influence on his life” is clearly absurd.
It is just because our beliefs inevitably influence our actions that it is necessary to have our beliefs centred on the right person or thing.
While all true Christians will admit to being failed followers of the teachings and life of Jesus Christ, we believe there is no-one better to try to seek after, follow and obey.
(Dr) Bernard W. Senior.18 Hillside Terrace,Dundee.
Tory reforms target neediest
Sir,-The welfare reform plans unveiled by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will hit the poorest hardest exactly the same group of people who need maximum support.
Thousands of families in Scotland are going to feel the full force of savage welfare cuts by the UK Government, on top of rises in VAT and inflation.
And while getting people off benefits is a laudable aim, just as is important is getting people into work once they are, for example, off incapacity support. These are measures that are simply not included in the Bill.
The important thing now is for Scotland to have more powers to boost our strategy for economic growth and help people back into work, for example through control over Job Centre Plus, so we can streamline health, employment and training services.
Alex Orr.Flat 2,77 Leamington Terrace,Edinburgh.
Uranium scheme has its merits
Sir,-Though Stuart Allan’s case against extracting uranium from the sea is well argued, the technology, clearly in its infancy, is worth trying to develop further in view of the potential benefits.
Technological immaturity and, indeed ineffectuality, does not deter our politicians from championing, and making us pay for, wind and wave-powered electricity generation.
We are not being told where the power will come from: will it be derived from oil shale, evidently good for hundreds of years, nuclear fission, as in France for the past 30 to 40 years, or nuclear fusion, as yet not practical?
What does now appear certain is that renewables are not a useful source of electricity.
To pretend otherwise, as do the Scottish and UK Governments, represents crass ignorance or wishful thinking, political cowardice or financial corruption among these various politicos seeking to deceive us.
Will political leaders who recognise this deception please provide opposition to the most dire error in public policy since our ruinous involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan?
(Dr) Charles Wardrop.111 Viewlands Road West,Perth.
Pothole repairs are sub-standard
Sir,-Whoever is responsible for the roads in Perth and Kinross Council should get a hold of the contractors who are dealing with the potholes caused by the recent snow and ice.
They apparently fill them in with a black crumbly material and tap it flat. In two to three weeks it has all broken down again and the hole is as bad as ever.
Whatever happened to the old tar boiler?
W. G. Watson.20 Spoutwells Drive, Scone.
Abertay’s debt of gratitude
Sir,-As a former head of department at Dundee Institute of Technology, I would like to point out that it was Professor Bernard King who turned the institute into a thriving, vibrant and successful university.
Is it likely that he is now sufficiently mistaken to cause its downfall?
(Dr) P. L. Bainbridge.21 Buddon Drive,Monifieth.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.