This morning’s correspondents explain Fife’s expenditure at Gardening Scotland, defend religious belief, criticise Israel’s position over Palestine and look ahead to years of spending cuts.
Fife gardening success a bargain for Kingdom Sir,-I was sorry to read the letter (June 8), which tried to detract from the success of Fife Council at the Gardening Scotland show.
I was one of the 90,000 people who attended the three-day event and was extremely proud of the efforts of the parks service of the council in gaining the top award.
Much of the prize-winning effort was put in by apprentice gardeners. There was also a great deal of voluntary, unpaid work prior to the show.
Most of the plants were raised at Craigtoun Park and will be used to adorn the glasshouses there after the event. The end result was an exhibit which was rightly praised by many, many people and which will help bring more visitors to Fife.
In keeping with Fife’s admirable recycling policy and economical approach, it is worth noting that the acer trees that formed part of the background had previously done service at Chelsea Flower Show in the early 1990s, as part of the then North East Fife District Council exhibit.
Also, recycling this past weekend’s success, the exhibit will form part of Fife Council’s stand at the Open golf championship in St Andrews next month.
At a cost of £10,000, which came as a grant, and not from the parks’ budget, I consider that the exhibit has been a tremendous bargain for Fifers.
(Cllr) Andrew Arbuckle.Fife Council.
An irrational hatred of religion
Sir,-Alan Hinnrichs (June 7) insists that his beliefs do not require a justification. Why?
His faith that human beings are the highest form of life, do not need a God and are not answerable to God, is one that has been shared by others such as Stalin, Mao and many others.
As such, it has been and continues to be a very dangerous faith, responsible for the death of millions, therefore, it is perfectly in order for those of us who are not believers in Mr Hinnrichs’ atheistic faith, to ask for some evidence.
Mr Hinnrichs claims that the Bible is cruel and promotes slavery, hatred, death to women, disobedient children and non-believers.
The Bible, of course, does no such thing in fact the very opposite.
It is only when seen through the lens of Mr Hinnrichs’ obsessive, irrational hatred of religion, that any such conclusion can be drawn.
As for the claim that there is no proof for God, I am more than happy to provide Mr Hinnrichs or any of your readers with the proof. Whether he chooses to see it or not is beyond my power but, thankfully, not God’s.
David A. Robertson.St Peter’s Free Church,4 St Peter Street,Dundee.
Israel squanders world sympathy
Sir,-Several letters over the last week have defended the position of Israel with regard to the attack on the freedom flotilla.
While there may be fault on either side that the conflict between Palestine and Israel continues, what is not in doubt is that the Palestinians are entitled to the minimum human rights of food, clothing, shelter and medicines.
The idea that at least some of these are restricted as a result of the Gaza blockade by Israel is supported by the UN. To describe the humanitarian activists on the ships as “so-called” is pejorative and a common theme in certain letters, itself perhaps illustrative of the influence of propaganda.
I prefer to accept that the motivation of long-standing campaigners is concern for those less fortunate than themselves.
Neither in doubt is the fact that Israel had the sympathy of the world in 1967 and has systematically squandered it since then, to the point where even its great supporter, the USA, condemns its latest action.
Steve Dron.Muirfield Crescent,Dundee.
US double standards
Sir,-Despite America’s protests and crocodile tears, they cannot abjure the responsibility for the tension in the Middle East.
By encouraging and arming Israel’s citizens to antagonise and fight with Arab nations, they caused the Arabs to direct resources from retrieving and marketing oil all to the advantage of America.
Jointly they are extremely hypocritical in condemning the Holocaust, while at the same time striving to deprive a country of land and nationhood.
It seems somewhat rich that the Jews condemn the Palestinians for terrorism when Israel was formed by the use of such methods.
A. P. Seggie.Maple View,43 Leslie Street,Blairgowrie.
Labour’s taken country to brink
Sir,-It does not really matter who governs the United Kingdom over the next 10 to 15 years, be it the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the Monster Raving Loony Party, or the Labour Party because there will be massive and long-term cuts to public services with a loss of tens of thousands of public-sector jobs.
The private and charity sectors will not be immune either from the need to balance the books. Cuts to the public sector budgets will see contracts and public funding dry up.
The consequent economic and social damage will be extensive and long lasting.
How have we come to such a position?
Well, when it comes to casting our vote, let’s not forget that 13 years of Labour misrule under the flawed political and economic stewardship of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown has resulted in a broken economy and the ruination of public finances.
To return the Labour Party to power at any level in the future would to be to compound gross political incompetence with an act of electoral madness.
Malcolm McCandless.40 Muirfield Crescent,Dundee.