Sir, As a retailer in the centre of Dundee I found your front page headline, Policing ‘over the top’ in Dundee, (Monday’s Courier) quite hard to believe.
To see the police on patrol in the city centre is a rarity these days and shopping for the everyday folk of Dundee can at times be quite an upsetting experience.
We have Big Issue sellers, beggars, drug addicts and buskers all along the High Street carrying out their “trade”.
And they seem to be free to do so without any intervention from our local police force.
The city centre is becoming more unsavoury by the day. Surely with a more prominent presence by the police in the centre it would become a much nicer place to browse and shop?
However, with the situation as it is at the moment, I do not think that day trippers and tourists will be encouraged to make a return trip to our fine city.
Graham Meade. Clayhills Grove, Dundee.
An unintended consequence of university fees
Sir, An unintended consequence of imposing university fees is that over 20,000 complaints were received last year fromstudents about the quality of the teaching.
It should have beenobvious that encouraging half the population to go to “university” meant it could no longer be free and “customers” would ask whether it was value for money.
But university is different from school students should not be spoon-fed and the acquisition of information should be largely left to them with the pace varying between institutions.
My first year in St Andrews in 1960 began with amiable, wide-ranging lectures from Prof Allan (Physics), Reid (Chemistry), Copson (Maths) and Rutherford (Applied Maths).
But in Cal Tech, I found Richard Feynman and Murray Gel-Mann certainly did not “teach to the middle” and those who could not keep up were simply advised to transfer out.
Only 3% of my generation went to university with others using different educational routes and the real need today is to improve the knowledge and skills of school-leavers.
Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.
Chinese lantern dangers . . .
Sir, Can I please ask people to refrain from releasing Chinese lanterns.
I found one on Saturday morning lying within metres of an open-sided straw shed on the farm. It was obviously still alight when it landed as there was evidence of burnt material below it.
Apart from the fire risk to property there is also a risk to livestock. The frames of the lanterns are either wire or thin bamboo type material which, if ingested by animals, could cause damage to their intestines leading to illness or death from infection or internal bleeding.
John Johnston. Annfield Farm, Dunfermline.
Marathon was a great success
Sir, On behalf of everyone at The Attic, (Children’s, Youth and Family Project), Beauly Avenue, Kirkton, I should like to thank all those who sponsored and supported us at the recent Edinburgh marathon.
I was delighted to complete my first marathon, and it was brilliant to see eight staff and volunteers complete and enjoy taking part in the “relay” section.
About £1000 was raised, and will go towards project funds. A great result. Many thanks.
Bruce White. Project Leader, The Attic Lounge, 4 Beauly Avenue, Dundee.
Politicians the cause of it all
Sir, I am not surprised there is a row at the moment with regard to religious schools.
Politicians caused this problem by voting for religious schools, which is absolute madness.
Now they are surprised that extremists are taking advantage of children. What did they expect?
Religion should not be taught in schools, only churches, where people can choose if they wish their children to be indoctrinated in this way.
Children should be taught facts not myths.
In America it is against the constitution to teach religion in schools. It should be the same here.
Alister Rankin. 93 Whyterose Terrace, Methil, Leven.
A smaller ‘slice of pizza’?
Sir, I was delighted that Barack Obama had the courage to speak out on the independence referendum. He has been criticised for doing so, but as President of the United States I think he had every right to voice his concern.
However, the fact that Alex Salmond states that they will then have two allies rather than one is highly questionable, and shows he is in desperate need of an arithmetic lesson.
His response that there will be two instead of one might be numerically true but it seems not that different from cutting a pizza into eight slices rather than six and somehow thinking that there is more pizza.
It should be obvious that the volume of the two voices will be individually smaller and in many scenarios there will likely be only one voice.
Scotland won’t sit on the G8 or even the G20, so in some of the larger forums it will indeed be the same number of voices as before, only quieter.
Gordon Kennedy. 117 Simpson Square, Perth.
It’s obvious why the US president had his say
Sir, No wonder US President Obama has raised concerns about the Scots’ independence referendum and is urging them to stay in the union.
It is quite obvious that the deployment of US nuclear weapons (leased to the Westminster Government at Faslane in Scotland), are the main criteria for his government’s concerns.
After all, it will be a great loss to the American military arms economy, and those many US Senators with business interests in the arms industry, if they have to be removed should the Scots say “yes” to independence.
Bob Harper. 63a Pittenweem Road, Anstruther.
A very different interpretation
Sir, I would have wondered if Mike Barile (letters, June 6) had been at the same Gordon Brown meeting as I was, were it not for the fact that I saw him there. But he has a totally different interpretation of what was said by Jenny Marra MSP, Jim McGovern MP and by Gordon Brown MP, himself.
I know Mike suffered (wrongly, in my opinion), at the hands of Dundee Council in his job, but the council, I hope, has learned its lesson that defending the indefensible is very expensive to the local taxpayer.
I also feel that there are some who, when they don’t get where they want to go in a political party, can be a wee bit bitter.
Certainly, I thought the three speakers named above were excellent and Gordon Brown, to me, was inspiring. His easy flowing account of how Scotland came to be where it is today in achievement and social justice brought a tear of pride to my eye. And all done within the United Kingdom. I, for one, left that audience feeling really optimistic that there is great hope for Scotland as a member of the United Kingdom.
Brown is no slouch, and was a far better Prime Minister than he is given credit for. He was “fast-tracked” to Edinburgh University when he was hardly more than a kid because he had the brains and the talent.
Sorry Mike, but “Big Broon” was a big hit. As far as I can see, yours is the only dissenting voice.
Ken MacDougall. 3 Logie Avenue, Dundee.
It can’t be done without extra tax
Sir, David Kelly (Letters, 7 June) makes a very valid point about child poverty levels in Scotland but this issue exposes an uncertainty for voters on September 18; what will happen to taxes in an independent Scotland?
The Yes campaign makes regular references to, “Nordic countries’ wealth”, “a more Socially just society” and “tackling child poverty”, etc.
However, when questioned about tax levels, all that is proposed are reductions in corporation tax and air passenger duty.
Norway, where child poverty is much less than the UK, has overall taxation as a percentage of GDP about 2% – 3% higher than the UK’s, even although they have a large oil fund.
However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently advised Norway to reduce its spending on welfare and benefits as current levels are unsustainable as their oil runs out.
I am very keen to see reductions in child poverty in Scotland, but can we really believe this can be done without raising extra tax?
I think not.
M McMillan. 14 Camphill Road, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.