Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, – Whether you love Donald Trump or hate him you must at least admire him for his stance against wind turbines. His staff will help Communities Against Turbines Scotland (CATS) with marketing and PR. At last the propaganda stakes will be evened up.
The usual suspects are getting worried. Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, has rushed to condemn Trump.
Scottish Renewables is the propaganda machine for the subsidy-driven renewables industry and WWF and Friends of the Earth are multi-million-pound businesses whose directors are well paid.
All are desperate to rubbish Mr Trump and perpetuate the myth of global warming and that wind turbines will save the planet.
WWF and Friends of the Earth received 12 million euros from the EU for “climate matters”.
Whitehall officials have reported that electricity prices today are 15% more expensive because of green policies and it will only get worse.
The other “inconvenient truth” is that other research showed that wind turbines actually increase fossil fuel consumption and CO2.
The UK’s CO2 reduction targets are meaningless in global terms. The UK should now stop wasting money on renewables subsidies and instead tackle the economy, unemployment and fuel poverty.
Clark Cross.138 Springfield Road,Linlithgow.
The families deserve to know
Sir, – The conviction of Abdelbaset al Megrahi for downing Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie still causes great unease among all who care about justice in Scotland.
Libyan involvement was always a stretch in view of the much more likely Iranian need to revenge the downing of its passenger plane by the renegade US destroyer Vincennes.
The serious problems with the forensic evidence first raised in the Church of Scotland’s Lockerbie Report look ever more alarming and are now under fresh scrutiny.
The families of those who died deserve all the known facts to be examined in a public arena whatever the embarrassment this may cause the Scottish judiciary.
(Dr) John Cameron.10 Howard Place,St Andrews.
Must take responsibility
Sir, – The only way to ensure that people treat and train their dogs properly is to have dog owners pay, through either a licence or registration scheme, the true cost of keeping the public safe from dangerous dogs and clearing up the mess that irresponsible owners leave behind them.
Before all dog owners write to tell us how responsible they are, I’ve just walked from my home to the town centre through the lovely park, passing at least six piles of dog dirt on the way.
A recent contributor states that dogs are not born with an inherent instinct to attack humans. This may be the case, but quite a lot of innocent children have been killed or injured by family pets, which after the event are described as having been a gentle, loving dog up until then.
Often, after such a case, the dogs are defended by well-minded dog owners who say the children must have annoyed the dog. This does not excuse the horror committed.
I have nothing against dogs or their owners but they should be minded that the majority of people in this country are not dog owners, nor are they happy to have a dog jump up and try to lick them in greeting.
John Strachan.23 Beechwood Avenue,Glenrothes.
Mist was so appropriate
Sir – I refer to Peter Small’s excellent page on farm machinery and rural life in East Fife in the 1950s. However, despite being in agricultural machinery since 1948 and still in it yet, it is Brigadoon I want to expand on.
Pete mentions that Strathkinness was looked at as a possible double for Brigadoon but was deemed not to be Scottish enough. I can say, having been born and bred in Strathmiglo, the idyllic village was chosen to host the Scottish premiere of the film around 1954/55.
The picture house was packed, the press were there in numbers and the hosts on the night were BBC celebrities Archie McCulloch and Kathie Kay.
It was a hugely exciting event, climaxing when the crowd leaving the cinema were faced with a bank of mist and could not see further than 20 feet.
So appropriate.
Joe Petrie.Gairneybank,Kinross.
Deserve praise
Sir, – I was in ward 42 of Ninewells Hospital for a lengthy stay recently. I was very moved at the compassion and dedication of the staff on this ward and I thank them for making my stay so memorable.
There is so much bad press as regards the NHS nowadays, so I think it only fair to praise them when it’s due.
(Mrs) Jeanette Bowie.1 Broomhill Court,Monifieth.
Respect others
Sir – I have not been reading all that has been written about the independence referendum because I have already made up my mind how I am going to vote.
John Campbell’s letter (February 28) infers that anyone who does not vote ‘yes’ to independence is some sort of Judas and is not Scottish. I find this insulting and offensive.
I am Scottish, and proud to be Scottish, but I respect other people’s right to have a different opinion.
Alan Cameron.6 Honeyberry Crescent,Rattray, Blairgowrie.
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.