Sir, A victory for common sense and dignity is always pleasing to witness, so we should welcome the decision of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games organisers to abandon that monstrous plan to demolish most of the remaining Red Road flats as part of the opening ceremony (Courier, April 14).
I wonder just what got into the heads of chief executive David Grevemberg and his team?
The destruction of blocks of flats on this scale is a reflection of failure. It is not something that should be put on display to the rest of the world as a cause for celebration.
It is quite possible to produce a good film about Glasgow’s social and architectural history without grandiose, offensive and melodramatic gestures. That is precisely what the demolition of the flats as part of an opening festival would have been.
More than that, it would cause offence to the existing residents whatever their citizenship status.
The decision to abandon the demolition was apparently taken mainly for security reasons, but the whole thing has left a very sour taste.
The organisers need to work hard between now and July to convince us all that they are credible and have the best interests of sport and the city of Glasgow at heart.
Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.
Saddened, but not surprised
Sir, I am saddened, but not at all surprised, that Sir Bruce Forsyth has had to take into account while making his “agonising decision” to give up live television, not only the good points, like being able to spend more time with his family etc, but also the unkind remarks he has been receiving for some time now.
In his own words he says if he makes a mistake with the autocue: “It’s big news. He’s 86 years old and past it.”
I am sorry to say this is the trend in this country and as Bruce says: “You don’t need it. Who needs it?”
I am an elderly lady and receive this same sort of treatment very often. For instance once you receive your retirement pension, instead of being an elderly lady or gentleman, you are a “pensioner”. Personally, I consider this derogatory. Recently, withdrawing more money than usual from my bank, I was asked in a bright voice by the teller what I was going to do with the money as if I wouldn’t know why he was asking!
A famous old gentleman, being interviewed by The Courier, was asked why he had retired to a foreign country. His answer was: “In your country when you are old people say: “He is old, he will know nothing.” In this country, however, they say: “He is old, so he will know everything!”
Betty Bowman. 17 West Park Road, Newport-on-Tay.
What excuse next time?
Sir, The earthquake in Chile shows how helpless mankind is in trying to influence nature. Add tsunamis, volcanoes, floods and other natural disasters and even the most dyed-in-the-wool green zealot must recognise this.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) perversely did not build these events into its already discredited computer models.
These models predicted the alarming rate at which global temperatures would rise from 1998 onwards but scientists spectacularly failed to consider the impact of volcanoes.
Volcanic eruptions release particles into the air that reflect sunlight thus causing temperatures to drop and desperate global warming scientists/alarmists belatedly gave this as the reason/excuse why global temperatures had not risen for 16 years.
The West, therefore, has wasted tens of billions of pounds/Euros to prevent computer-modelled global warming which, spectacularly, failed to happen.
What excuse will the scaremongering IPCC give when global warming stalls yet again?
Clark Cross. 138 Springfield Road, Linlithgow.
Not advocating a soft option
Sir, I would respectfully submit that Leslie Milligan, (letters, April 11) has completely missed the point of my argument in opposition to the use of the death penalty.
Leslie maintains that compassion and sentiment are the driving forces behind my position, whereas my argument is based solely on the injustice from many perspectives, of its use.
There were several examples given in support of this in Jenny Marra’s original article and also my previous correspondence.
I also stated that opposition to the death penalty does not equate to a soft option for murderers. Those who murder should be properly punished for their crimes if found guilty in a court of law. The severity of that punishment must, as I have previously stated, fit the crime, but the death penalty should not be part of this process.
Ronald Oliver. 4 Lethnot Street, Broughty Ferry.
Is history no longer taught?
Sir, Why is it when I watch some of the many quiz programmes on TV any contestant under the age of 25 knows very little about books and almost nothing about history?
If the question refers to something which happened before they were born, the usual answer is: “That was before my time. I don’t have a clue.”
Don’t they teach history any more in school? They can usually give a correct answer to a pop music question so I suppose they are knowledgeable about something.
Fiona McMillan. 6 EthiebeatonTerrace, Monifieth.
It’s not a vote for Alex
Sir, Derek Farmer (letters, April 10) suggests that a letter from a non-resident Scot complaining she cannot vote in the referendum demonstrates cynicism on the part of the SNP in organising the referendum process. He conveniently overlooks the fact that the timetable, and more particularly the referendum question, was set with the blessing of the Electoral Commission and the whole process was agreed between the UK PM and Scotland’s First Minister.
He goes on to liken the aftermath of a “yes” vote to the problems faced by the peoples of Egypt and Syria in their desperate attempts to rid themselves of tyrannical masters and forgets to point out that the bitterness, hardship etc, which followed was due to the tyrants’ determination to hang on to power.
Is he seriously suggesting that our civilisation is so backward that, if required, the two sides in this situation are incapable of achieving a peaceful, negotiated adult outcome?
He continues with a rant against the First Minister and his party but no matter how many times people point out that the vote is not for Alex Salmond but for the future well-being of the country, there are still those who can not or will not accept the situation.
Finally, as a self-confessed right-winger he reverts to type and uses the word “communist” to belittle those of us who happen to care about people less fortunate than ourselves and see breaking away from Westminster domination as a way to bring about change.
Allan A MacDougall. 37 Forth Park, Bridge of Allan.
Time to take off the blinkers
Sir, Perhaps some of the readers in so-called Courier Country and beyond, thinking of voting for an independent Scotland might like to take off their blinkers before September’s vote and reflect on the world around them. I would ask that they might consider the following: l l,840 million people in India without sanitation, that is 158 times the population of Scotland;
l 57 million children globally do not have the opportunity to go to primary school, 10 times the population of Scotland;
l one in eight of the 7.1 billion people in the world were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2010 – 12 according to The United Nation’s food and agriculture organisation. I will leave readers to work out the ratio there as to how many, for each of us Scots, go to bed hungry at night. I could go on.
Anyone who ignores these statistics does so at their own peril. Those who feel that an independent Scotland might somehow be more “perfect” for them should remind themselves of the above facts and note that “perfection” for some in this world is a galaxy away. UK plc as we stand, currently leaves all of us in a stronger position to help confront some of these global obscenities.
Jonathan Brown. Waterloo Cottage, Meigle.
A different trough
Sir, Does Alan Lawson (yesterday’s letters), seriously think that a “yes” vote in the referendum will “get politics back on track” in Scotland, eliminate financial scandals involving MSPs and restore the integrity of politicians?
If he does, then I am astonished at his naivety! We only have to remember far enough back to the advent of the Scottish Parliament to see that it has all been tried before and found wanting. All the promises of an end to “yah boo politics” and scandals have proved to be empty.
Impropriety even lost us our second ever First Minister, Henry McLeish, who had to resign in 2001 after a financial scandal. There have been scandals aplenty since then, not all of them involving money, but just as damaging to the integrity of Scottish politicians.
I’m still assimilating information to make my decision, but it certainly won’t be influenced by a nave hope that an independent Scotland will be free of politicians with their snouts in the trough. It will just be a different trough!
Ian F McRae. 17 Broomwell Gardens, Monikie.
The most absurd campaign ever
Sir, Better Together have run the most absurd campaign in UK history. Only last week Lord Robertson was implying that Scottish independence would be welcomed by despots in North Korea. A cynic might suggest Lord Robertson fears losing his seat for life in the Lords in the event of a “yes” vote.
Better Together is a Tory- funded Labour-fronted campaign of mutual self-interest. Labour are in the ludicrous position of arguing that an Eton-educated Tory millionaire at Westminster is a better person to govern Scotland than a Labour member in an independent Scotland.
Alan Hinnrichs. 2 Gillespie Terrace, Dundee.