On the agenda this morning are the effects of the contraceptive pill, the benefits of Fife’s garden success, the possible drawbacks of the proposed Dundee biomass plant and public sector “jobsworths.”
Unintended consequences of ‘liberation’ pill Sir,-This year marks the 50th anniversary of the contraceptive pill.
In the 1960s it was heralded as a development that would liberate women from male dominance and lead to fewer divorces, fewer unwanted pregnancies and fewer abortions.
It is now clear, however, that things did not turn out that way.
As the pill became more widespread, the number of divorces and abortions soared.
We saw a lowering of moral standards.
In addition, the well-being of children declined by a variety of measures, from depression to diet to the number living in poverty and the number experiencing child abuse or neglect.
Though women now have access to places and positions that once belonged to men, they have never been seen more as sex objects than they are today.
The major disconnect caused by the arrival of the pill has been a loss of the idea that men and women make babies. This has been caused by advances in artificial reproduction methods. The horizon does not look promising for the family.
We will soon be seeing countless forms of sexually bonded groups that are not only unstable but seriously harmful to children.
Frank Henderson.840 Gray Street,Broughty Ferry.
Celebrate Fife’s gardens success
Sir,-What is Katie Spencer-Nairn on about in her criticism of Fife Council’s spectacular success at the Gardening Scotland show?
The only other criticism I have heard about the win is why our local parks and gardens aren’t sometimes up to the same standard!
I hope that Fife Council’s spending policy on services, forced on us by huge cash cuts from Westminster following 13 years of Labour Government mismanagement, are driven by fairness in increasingly hard times.
The disabled and elderly for whom Mrs Spencer-Nairn professes great concern, are also entitled to some benefit from attractive parks and gardens too.
Participation in the Gardening Scotland competition as part of Celebrating Fife 2010, at a very modest cost compared with our total council budgets, helps train young staff and, of course, creates a pride in the quality of their work.
Also, I believe that plants and other material used in the winning exhibit were re-used in public areas in Fife after the exhibition.
Katie Spencer-Nairn’s jibe about Fife Council caring more for plants than people is ludicrous.
Parks and gardens bring pleasure into all Fifers’ lives, as should the fact that relevant council staff won a prestigious prize at a national competition.
George S. McLennan.Rintoul Place,Blairhall,Dunfermline.
Peace activists’ ‘terror’ tactics
Sir,-Now we know that the Gaza “peace” protesters were armed and initiated the conflict with the Israeli soldiers, should there not now be an official reprimand for those who have sullied our reputation by being involved or supporting such foolish terror tactics?
Andrew Lawson.9 MacLaren Gardens,Dundee.
Plant unsuitable for city centre
Sir,-Bruce Robbins’ latest article on the proposed biomass plant in Dundee quotes SEPA as saying that the 100-metre chimney would be unable to emit dangerous P25 particulates.
His previous article stated that the chimney would spout only steam.
This is no benign machine pumping out fresh air.
It would consume huge amounts of damp wood with an exhaust system trying to cope with high levels of dioxins and various other dangerous chemical compounds produced on an enormous scale.
Dioxins are produced by burning damp wood.
Consistently high temperatures are required to destroy dioxins, which are not easy to achieve.
The position of the plant, combined with the prevailing wind, would almost certainly expose a large portion of the east end of Dundee, Broughty and Monifieth areas to this invisible potential hazard.
We must be very careful not to gain a few local jobs and a pile of cash for Forth Ports at the expense of our environment and human health in our area for years to come.
It makes the mind boggle that, in 2010, this plant can be considered suitable for a built-up city area.
David Niven.47 Elie Avenue,Dundee.
Let axe fall on UK’s non-jobs
Sir,-The new transport secretary Philip Hammond was horrified to discover that the kilometre was used in official documents.
He has now banned its use and all documents are to be changed back to miles.
A good start.
Now let’s ensure that other ministers act in a similar manner. Politically correct terminology and their authors’ jobs should be consigned to the dustbin.
Health and safety jobsworths in the public sector should be sent out to pasture.
Then, of course, there are the refuse commissars who strut around threatening to fine law-abiding citizens who inadvertently put the rubbish in the wrong bin.
They should be sent to sort out rubbish as a punishment.
Equality and diversity departments have grown and now serve no useful purpose except to antagonise the majority.
Saving these non-essential spendthrift salaries and attendant costs would send out a strong signal about useless non-jobs and help put the UK back on the road to economic recovery.
Clark Cross.138 Springfield Road,Linlithgow.