Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, Virgil”s famous maxim “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” rings true today, though at least when modern Greeks” Homeric counterparts delivered their wooden horse to Troy it had the appearance of a good offer.
Today, as the Greek economy plunges towards bankruptcy and their beleaguered Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou tries to calm the Eurozone leaders by promising new austerity measures and taxes, we would be foolish to take their offers at face value.
The truth of the matter is that Greece is a basket case. Only 25,000 Greeks have declared salaries of over 100,000 euros (£88,000) a year for tax purposes. Tax-dodging and corruption are rife. Repeated bail-outs, funded mainly by Germany and France, have failed to stop the rot.
If the latest 8 billion euro bailout is withheld by the EU and IMF because Greece has failed to meet its fiscal targets, the Greek government will not be able to pay public sector salaries by October.
Responsible Northern Europeans are getting sick of having to bail out the profligate and irresponsible Southern European economies.
The only solution is to throw Greece out of the Eurozone, a club it should never have been allowed to join in the first place.
Struan Stevenson.Conservative Euro MP for Scotland.
Developers are to blame
Sir, Richard Burdge”s article (September 13) on the plight of Perth City Hall was excellent, apart from perpetuating the myth that the original plans for conversion of the building into a shopping complex “foundered during the recession”, which was not the case.
Let”s set the record straight. As the scheme chosen by the council following the competition in 2004-05 was the only one among the five on the shortlist which was unfunded and incapable of proceeding, it had “foundered” from the day when the developer (Wharfside Regeneration Limited) was appointed in November 2005.
They had a clear run in favourable economic conditions for two years, throughout 2006-07, but could make no progress whatsoever.
Yet the council clung to Wharfside until September 2009, a year after the market in commercial property development slumped following the collapse of Lehman Bros. in September 2008.
The council, having wasted nearly four years, then created the myth that Wharfside couldn”t go ahead owing to the recession so nobody was to blame and now the only thing to do was to knock the building down!
That is why we are in the present intolerable situation, having to rely on Historic Scotland to ensure this madness goes no further.
Vivian Linacre.21 Marshall Place,Perth.
Sentence was a deserved one
Sir, You reported (September 13) the protests of the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) and the Scottish Jews for a Just Peace (SJJP) against the conviction of Paul Donnachie for a racially-aggravated offence.
To call his conviction a denial of freedom of demonstration indicates a somewhat degraded view of democratic principle unless you seek to add obscenity to such principles.
Paul Donnachie was convicted of a crime in a Scottish court. He deserves his sentence.
Andrew Lawson.9 MacLaren Gardens,Dundee.
Heartfelt thanks to one and all
Sir, Just a note to say how grateful we are to the Courier and their helpful team for highlighting our Marie Curie Awareness and Fundraising Cycle both before and after the event. Thanks also to the people of Dundee who not only dropped coins in our buckets but gave us their time for a chat and a laugh.
All donations will be sent directly to Marie Curie Nursing Service to enable them to extend their care to all those diagnosed with any terminal illness.
Heartfelt thanks to one and all.
Catherine Lawson.20 Lethnot Street, Barnhill.
Vivienne Moss,West Road,Newport-on-Tay.
Give us back our stolen lands
Sir, Ask any Englishman or woman where Scotland starts and they will say Hadrian”s Wall. It is time our SNP Government demanded the border be redrawn to include all the land north of the wall be returned to Scotland.
This land, along with the three now northern English counties, was taken at the point of a Norman sword. How can anyone argue the land north of the wall is England?
Too many politicians simply don”t want to rock the boat.
It is time we got off our knees. We have been on them since our lords in the Edinburgh parliament were bought and we were sold into a form of dependence on scraps from the English table.
A government is not a government till it controls its own money and foreign affairs.
Let us become a nation again whose government will look after our old and infirm properly, where the people come first, and every one gets a say.
Too long have we lived under the yoke of control by lords, religious institutions and politicians all hell bent on keeping us in our place.
John George Phimister.63 St Clair Street,Kirkcaldy.
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.