Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, – Andrew Lawson tries to make the case that Great Britain is a better security bet than a separated Scotland (Letters, July 20). But he is wrong.
Great Britain has spent over £20 billion on failed military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan that have only increased the likelihood of external and home-grown terrorist attacks.
Great Britain has spent over £10 billion on the London Olympics but has failed to provide adequate security for the games.
Great Britain is to spend over £100 billion on new nuclear weapons, nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers and STVOL aircraft that have been described as morally indefensible, a waste of money, overly expensive job creation schemes and, basically, military junk …. a procurement process that many defence analysts have argued will undermine the conventional forces required to defend these isles.
As the 7/7 attacks proved, a Britain that funds an illusion of greatness through grandiose military projects offers no real security to its citizens.
Spending millions on independence seems a better way to provide security for all Scots than billions wasted on forever projecting Pax Britannica.
Malcolm McCandless,Muirfield Crescent,Dundee.
Austerity is killing not curing patient
Sir, – With the latest GDP figures showing a marginal 0.1% fall in economic growth in Scotland compared to a 0.4% drop over the same period for the UK it is vital that Prime Minister Cameron must deliver more capital funding to the Scottish Government for shovel-ready projects (July 19).
While latest figures showing that the Scottish employment rate is higher and the unemployment rate is now lower than the UK average are indeed heartening, the fall in Scottish GDP was entirely driven by a drop in the construction sector, while the services and production sectors continued to expand.
The downward revision by the IMF to their growth forecast for the UK economy in 2012 to just 0.2% demonstrates that more needs to be done by the UK Government to kick-start the economy in the form of capital investment to stimulate growth and jobs.
The UK Government’s austerity medicine is killing, not curing the patient and it is interesting to note that despite the negative impression given of the economic situation in the eurozone, it still grew at twice the rate of the UK economy last year.
We now need a further Westminster U-turn to deliver the increase in capital spending required to make an immediate difference.
Alex Orr,Leamington Terrace,Edinburgh.
A granny’s platform plea
Sir, – I read with interest the article by Mike Donachie regarding taking his children to the railway station with some sandwiches to spend a couple of hours watching the trains (July 16).
I used to do that. I wonder which station he took them to.
I cannot even see my granddaughter on to the train from Dundee any more. I am not allowed past the barrier. One time she actually boarded the wrong train and has an aversion to trains now.
Once, I noticed a distressed lady who, like me, was banned from seeing her grandchild on to a train.
I used to be able to see my grandchildren off and even buy them a coffee or bacon sandwich but now I am not allowed. When I inquire why, I am told it is to do with health and safety and revenue reasons. They also informed me they are ready to assist ‘vulnerable’ people.
I do not consider my granddaughter to be vulnerable. I just want to give her a cuddle, a drink, and see her safely seated and then wave her off.
I would be quite happy to buy a platform ticket, as in the days of old, and although I can see that some people might misuse the station, surely discretion and common sense is called for.
Please, Dundee, let us grannies see our grandchildren safely on the train.
Barbara Sturrock,Invergowrie Drive,Dundee.
A problem with Palestine
Sir, – I read with disquiet that Dundee activist Ryan Swan, on behalf of the pro-Palestinians, is calling for disruption of the planned Israeli Batsheva Dance Company.
How I wish I could take him and his SPSC members to Israel. What a shock they would get, for everything Mr Swan and his fellows believe is a fabrication there is no apartheid, no ‘occupation’ of so-called ‘Palestinian land’. There is no such land as Palestine.
The name the Romans gave the area is now the legitimate State of Israel, a democracy which the Palestinians and all Islamists dream of wiping off the map (including its 1 million Arab citizens, I presume).
Flora Selwyn,North Castle Street,St Andrews.
Holding a smoking gun
Sir, – It is terrible people can subject children to the dangers of cigarette smoke and it’s awful to see pregnant woman smoking (Thursday’s Courier).
I also see patients in Perth Royal Infirmary and Ninewells Hospital standing outside, or at the cafe, trailing their drips along with them. Is this not very unhygienic and could it not spread infections?
Jenny Duncan,South William Street,Perth.
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. Letters should be accompanied by an address and a daytime telephone number.