Today’s learned scriveners discuss street pastors, the Connect2 bridge, Labour at the Scottish election, despots and the benefits of radiation exposure.
Sir, The Kirkcaldy street pastors project, which hands out sick bags, flip-flops and foil blankets to revellers suffering from the cold, or effects of binge-drinking at weekends, is to receive a £6000 grant from cash-strapped Fife Council.
The council leaders have to be admired for their caring attitude to this vulnerable section of the community, who I am sure will be making a contribution towards the service.
John McDonald.14 Rosebery Court,Kirkcaldy.A bridge we cannot affordSir, Your leading article (April 11) about proposed expenditures on the Perth Connect2 bridge and St Catherine’s retail park deals with how best to use public money, which is in short supply following financial mismanagement by previous and present politicians.
The criteria favouring spending on the proposed bridge and retail park must depend on likely benefit to the local community rather than on a few councillors’ preferences. Evidence supporting the bridge seems theoretical and limited, with no adequate soundings of public opinion.
There are widespread, serious objections related to damage to the historic North Inch golf course and now marked rises in estimated costs, increases not defrayed by lottery money.
It has been termed a white elephant bridge, unlikely to attract many users because of its limited purposes and siting, for which a poor case has been made by Perth and Kinross Council.
On the other hand, the retail park clearly needs to be revamped, or it may fail altogether.
St Catherine’s is a real business enterprise, with benefits for the Fair City, and must, therefore, have priority, since there is only so much money to go round and the costs would be shared with private enterprise taking appropriate commercial risks.
Perth and Kinross Council should wake up to the fact that we do not live in a time of plenty when vanity projects might be more acceptable to the taxpayer.
(Dr) Charles Wardrop.111 Viewlands Road West,Perth.Despots are disposableSir, Unlike your correspondent Andrew Lawson, I was delighted when the ordinary people of Tunisia then Egypt bravely rose up and toppled the corrupt Western-backed tyrants who had suppressed them for so long. Delighted, too, when the Libyan people did likewise.
The peoples of these countries that have shed the yolk of oppression should be free to determine their own policies and chose their own leaders but UK contact with the anti-Gaddafi forces evidenced by the Benghazi helicopter incident involving SAS troops and a British diplomat gives the impression that behind the scenes some, as yet unnamed leader, has been chosen from their ranks. Will he be better or worse than Gaddafi I wonder?
One thing is for sure, when the West endorse a preferred candidate-as with Mubarak, Ben Ali and so on-it will be with a view to his usefulness to Western oil/arms companies and Israel rather than the democratic aspirations of the Arab street.
On past form, it seems a safe bet that the propagation of inter-Arab wars in the Middle East/North Africa will continue to suit the interests of these groups who will watch from the sidelines rubbing their hands.
Tom Minogue.94 Victoria Terrace,Dunfermline.Radiation linked to health benefitsSir, Anti-nuclear activists claim Chernobyl killed one million people, will kill millions more in the future and provide chilling photographs of deformed Russian babies.
But Professor Gerry Thomas, of Imperial College, examined the health effects of Chernobyl for the UN and found “absolutely no evidence” for an increase in birth defects.
The UN’s Committee on the Effect of Radiation reported only 134 seriously affected, 28 of who died, 19 died later but not from radiation poisoning and the rest recovered.
The UN reported the greatest problem was the “victim” culture caused by endless media exposure which led to morbid health concerns and reckless, even suicidal behaviour.
This mirrored the findings of Japan’s Atomic Bomb Disease Institute that high exposure was indeed fatal but human beings also showed extraordinary tolerance to radiation.
In fact, Nagasaki survivors with moderate exposure gained overall general health benefits and doctors suspect that irradiation destroyed latent viruses in their bodies.
(Dr) John Cameron.10 Howard Place,St Andrews.Labour’s figures do not add upSir, The Labour leader at Holyrood, Iain Gray, has promised that if Labour wins the Scottish election and he becomes First Minister, his party would eliminate youth unemployment in Scotland for good by creating over 250,000 jobs. An era of full employment awaits if we vote Labour.
Voters can only look on in amazement at how full employment can be achieved in such financially perilous times when previous Labour governments, at both Westminster and Holyrood, have failed to do so in more prosperous eras.
However, there is a more straight forward arithmetical problem for Iain Gray, himself a former maths teacher.
Scotland’s unemployment figure stands at 218,000 and has been dropping-32,000 less than the number of jobs Labour has promised to create. Let’s be gracious, the 250,000 jobs as quoted could be another Labour Party manifesto misprint.
We must remember that the original version also promised that Scottish Labour is committed to scrapping the “failed Scottish Labour.”
Malcolm McCandless.40 Muirfield Crescent,Dundee.
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