Today’s letters debate the uprising in the Middle East, New Labour’s record, the Christchurch earthquake, and the construction industry.
We should value the precious gift of democracy
Sir,-I believe many of us are watching the news of the peoples in Egypt and surrounds, with a little awe, wonder, and hope.
Ordinary citizens taking to the streets and exposing themselves to danger in civil disobedience demonstrations in order to demand changes to their government in most cases from a dictatorship by the minority to a democracy and free vote for a majority government.
If only we could indulge in such dreams of democracy and freedom.
For some time now our legislature has been set by the judiciary of Europe and our representatives have little control over our own justice system.
Is it any wonder then that criminals and terrorists flock to our shores in the knowledge that nowhere else in the world can the indigenous law be used against the citizens and taxpayers, so that they must support them and their families without fear of being expelled?
The question of freedom is becoming more and more dubious as our ability to speak and discuss issues is curtailed.
Can it possibly be true that anyone with an opinion, principle, ideal or moral and religious belief is no longer able to express views if they do not agree with the minority moralists, without the finger of accusation being pointed? Do we really have the freedom we want?
Our existing voting system is far from perfect and can put power into the hands of the minority, but only if we allow this to happen, which is why in light of forthcoming elections I implore everyone enabled to vote to do so, and use wisely the vote denied so many in the world, before we too lose it.
Alan Bell.Roods,Kirriemuir.
Principles buried under sleaze
Sir,-How interesting it was to watch Newsnight and see Douglas Alexander, Labour MP and opposition frontbench spokesman on foreign affairs, refuse to condemn the dreadful attacks on Libyan citizens by their own armed forces much of their armament supplied by Britain.
Of course, Mr Alexander would have been too embarrassed to condemn Libya which would inevitably have led to the question of why Labour did deals with Libya another question Tony Blair will not answer until he is hopefully brought to trial as a war criminal.
What has happened to Labour? Once a principled party of the people, now up to their necks in sleaze and dirty dealing.
We also have the story of two Labour MSPs having to explain their connection with a now-defunct printing company run by a Labour Party member.
How much more of this do people in Scotland have the stomach for? It’s not just Labour though. I read that David Cameron had arms dealers with him on his visit to Egypt.
Bill McLean.5 Rosemill Court, Newmills, Dunfermline.
Labour Party’s short memories
Sir,-We hear daily from Labour councillors complaining that government “cuts” are threatening public services. However, they never mention that the cuts have been caused by the Labour government wrecking the economy and nearly bankrupting the country.
Labour, under Blair and Brown, conducted one of the most ruinous administrations in our history.
Donald J. MacLeod.49 Woodcroft Avenue,Bridge of Don.
Worrying new quakes trend
Sir,-New Zealand’s earthquakes originate from the collision between the Australian and Pacific plates whose boundary runs diagonally through the country.
The boundary between the plates in the South Island is the huge Alpine Fault and earthquakes in this area can be severe, the last occurring in 1717 AD.
There are about 200 earthquakes a year big enough to be felt by people nearby but larger ones such as Tuesday’s catastrophe were thought to occur only every other decade.
Yet it is only five months ago that Christchurch was rocked with a 7.1 quake but, as it was centred 25 miles away, damage was limited with no fatalities.
There is a network of faults under the Canterbury Plains but the location of both the Christchurch quakes was unexpected and does not appear to match any known faults.
Dr John Cameron.10 Howard Place,St Andrews.
Green energy pledge lauded
Sir,-Labour’s proposal to launch an initiative enabling an initial 10,000 homes to produce their own renewable energy would be a positive benefit to the Scottish construction sector.
Such initiatives will help to sustain many construction jobs and apprenticeships and equip our industry with the green skills needed to make the transition to the low carbon economy of the future.
But we also need to understand the true scale of the challenge. Recent figures show that for Scotland’s housing stock to achieve the intended 42% cut in emissions by 2020 required by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act, the cost will be £16 billion.
With such a low number of new homes currently being built, retro-fitting existing buildings will have a much greater impact on tackling climate change than focusing purely on introducing increasingly stringent energy efficiency standards for new-build properties.
Michael Levack.Chief Executive,Scottish Building Federation.
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.