ON Monday, July 18, the parliament of another country, with a government that the people of Scotland did not elect, voted to impose Trident nuclear weapons on us and store them 30 miles up the road from our largest centre of population.

This despite 58 of Scotland’s 59 MP’s voting against.

This will guarantee that if there is an accident or, God forbid, a nuclear war, then the vast majority of the Scottish population will be wiped out in an instant.

Oh, did I mention they are going to spend £120 billion upwards on these abominations whilst our weans are relying on food banks?

To all the ‘No’ voters, is this what you voted for?

If so, I feel sorry for you, if not, it’s time for you to think again about independence.

Say no to weapons of mass destruction.

Charlie Sherry

Hardgate,

Clydebank

BEFORE the next bank crash let’s examine ‘the bankers’ defence’ – we are all wise with the benefit of hindsight.

Hindsight is not prejudiced in favour of wisdom or benefits – as if there are no dangers, hazards or unwise people to safeguard and caution against; like evil bankers.

The truth may serve to obscure and conceal as much as it reveals. Was there criminality, wrongdoing, lying, cheating and stealing going on at the banks before they crashed in 2008?

Was hindsight required to know the unwise and harmful consequences of that?

For example, according to Bill Black, the former US Prosecutor in the “Savings and Loans” scandal in the 80’s, the FBI published a notice that the US property market was awash with white collar crime years before the banks crashed in 2008.

The world’s first modern bank was created in Siena in 1624, when the Medici Grand Duke guaranteed the accounts held at the Monte dei Paschi.

Banks have had this State guarantee ever since.

So, the entire banking system has been rigged to guarantee the survival and predominance of ruling class bankers, in advance, crime or no crime.

Meanwhile, it is working class people who pay for this state guarantee and when the banks crash they are told “it’s God’s will,” or a “gift of nature” and a host of other fairy tales.

Hindsight, wisdom and benefits were not even at the races.

The rich and powerful were.

James Granham,

via email

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, is the oldest national military charity in the UK. We have been providing vital support for our troops, veterans and their families for more than 130 years.

While attention is often focused on the problems faced by older, retired veterans, SSAFA published an extensive research report on July 19, reported in last week’s Helensburgh Advertiser, into the issues faced by younger, working age veterans.

Our research identified a group of veterans aged between 16-64 who are living in pretty desperate circumstances, often through no fault of their own

Something that comes across loud and clear from our report is that many of the veterans helped by SSAFA were, for a long time after leaving the Armed Forces, too proud to ask for help.

If any of your readers are in need of support and they are veterans or currently serving members of the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force, or indeed their family members, please may I take this opportunity to encourage them to contact SSAFA’s confidential Forcesline on 0800 731 4880.

They have had our backs and now it is time for us to have theirs.

To read our report findings in full your readers can visit our website (www.ssafa.org.uk).

Air Vice-Marshal David Murray,

SSAFA chief executive

THE Supreme Court will announce the verdict on Named Persons on July 28 at 9.30am.

The Christian Institute ran a very good case in the civil court, where the representatives of the court of session were all over the place.

I am quietly confident the rule of law will win. Regardless, it will create big trouble for the party if it rules in favour of the Scottish government.

I am glad Jamie Greene MSP (Conservative, West of Scotland) has spoken out against the scheme and didn’t use political point scoring, instead he did what he was elected to do.

Unfortunately, I have seen some people from the SNP defend the scheme by pointing the fingers.

Yes, it’s true all parties originally agreed on the policy. But that doesn’t make it right. And I am ashamed that they have resorted to calling Christians right-wingers.

The fact they didn’t openly campaign for the scheme says it all.

Llewellyn Rockwell, on the Mises Institute site, wrote an interesting piece on government using statutes to put there message across.

He said: “Leftist, in short, is a recipe for permanent revolution and a distinctly anti-liberty kind.

It’s not just anti-libertarian, it’s anti-human.”

With governments of all colours, we can see this anti-human concept.

Andrew McGlinchey,

Clydebank

I AM simply not prepared to brook criticism of the cost of the Edinburgh tram enquiry, now reputed to be hitting £3.7 million.

As any lawyer involved with the enquiry will confirm, it is worth every penny.

John Eoin Douglas,

via e-mail

LESS than four per cent of contact centres are sales-based – a story the industry must sell to the public.

We’ve all been hacked off by call centres at some time, but spare a thought for those working in the industry.

We may just be being a little unfair to the industry as a whole.

Recent YouGov research commissioned by Aquarium Software shows more than 85 per cent of the public think contact centres are trying to sell to us regularly.

Not surprising, but with just four per cent of such call centres exclusively sales-based, the view is based on a complete misunderstanding of what contact centres do.

Some 75 per cent of us think at least half of all call centre activity is purely making sales calls, so the industry has an image problem and it is in the interests of contact centres and consumers to know the truth.

The contact centre industry must be more transparent about its activities, or risk negative perceptions of its role in commerce.

Scepticism is perhaps understandable from anyone who doesn’t work in a call centre (most of us).

But when you consider that the overall sector output is 75 per cent service and just 25 per cent sales, this is worlds away from the sales-dominated picture held by the public, as evidenced by this new YouGov research.

Bad apples exist in all industries but perhaps it’s time to cut a little slack to most call centre staff, who are just trying to earn an honest living.

Ed Shropshire

Managing director,

Aquarium Software

Tube journeys taking longer for wheelchair users – but what is being done about it?

A few months ago, it hit the news that it can take up to four times longer for people with disabilities to travel on the London Underground. Transport for London (Tfl) has now had time to form a plan, and must inform the public of what it intends to do about this unacceptable situation.

Journeys are taking longer principally because of the lack of step-free access; something present at just one in four stations. A tube trip from Ealing to Mile End, normally around 40 minutes, can jump to a journey time of almost three hours in a wheelchair, simply because of the lack of an alternative to the stairs.

This is a deeply discriminatory situation. Thousands of members of The British Polio Fellowship live with Post Polio Syndrome (PPS), a condition which can seriously affect mobility and many would welcome an alternative to stairs, even if not using a wheelchair. No one expected change overnight, but we must now see some tangible evidence of planned improvements.

Tfl has an annual budget of £11.5bn, of which 23 per cent comes from the state. It is simply unacceptable for anyone’s journeys to take four times longer simply because they use a wheelchair. It is now time to act.

If you would like more information about The British Polio Fellowship or need support living with PPS, please visit www.britishpolio.org.uk or call 0800 043 1935.

Ted Hill MBE

CEO, The British Polio Fellowship