Clearly there is no immediate prospect of America calling a halt to this genocide. President Trump of course could stop the slaughter tomorrow by simply lifting the phone. Instead, Israel is being actively encouraged and indeed supported both financially and militarily by America. It is hard not to believe that this inaction is part of Donald Trump’s nightmarish dream of Gaza becoming a holiday resort for wealthy Americans.
Thus far pleas for restraint from world leaders and the UN are routinely ignored by Prime Minister Netanyahu and indeed are presented as support for Hamas. The UK and other like-minded countries should be imposing sanctions now as a matter of urgency to force Israel to end its aggression and to allow the free movement of the desperately needed aid into Gaza. We can look to the example of the 1980s when the imposition of economic, social and cultural sanctions on South Africa saw the unravelling of apartheid.
So why is there now a move to impose international sanctions on Iran but not on Israel?
Eric Melvin, Edinburgh.
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Trading standards threat is hollow
It isn’t in the gift of the Society of Chief Trading Standards Officers in Scotland (SCOTSS) to “consider opting out of local authority control” (“Scotland’s trading standards at risk as staffing is halved”, heraldscotland, August 28). Trading standards is a statutory function delivered by the 32 unitary councils in Scotland and the problems SCOTTS has highlighted about the recruitment and training of new TSOs are no different from those that have been highlighted for a number of years by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) in respect of environmental health officers.
For more than a decade now, both the Scottish Government and Cosla have been ignoring the fact that the councils weren’t training enough replacement staff for these regulatory services that are essential to protect the public. If it isn’t rectified, the latter will be the losers.
Setting up a national service instead of the current arrangement isn’t the answer either unless the funding issues are addressed. There’s clear evidence that most of the disadvantages of setting up Sepa (as was foretold by REHIS in 1993) have come to fruition. Regulatory services are best delivered locally.
There could however be another motive for SCOTTS calling for a national service of TSOs. Prior to 1996, they were employed in Scotland’s nine regional councils, then redistributed among the new councils. Within a year of two, it emerged that the individual councils operated different pay grades and it led to the argument “if we had a national service, we’d all be paid the same irrespective of where we worked”.
John F Crawford, Preston.
Cultural vandalism
Glasgow’s Cardonald Library has been closed since September 2023. We were told it was unsafe due to RAAC concrete. Fair enough, safety matters. But nearly two years later the doors are still locked, repairs won’t start until late 2025, and completion may take another 18 months. That’s four years without a library.
Libraries are not luxuries. They are lifelines – for children discovering books, older people seeking company, jobseekers needing internet access, and vulnerable residents finding dignity. To close one for four years is not “temporary”, it is cultural vandalism.
The only visible protest today is graffiti on a bus shelter: “Libary closed for 1 year 11 months no replacement.” The spelling is broken, the message is broken, and so too is trust in Glasgow City Council.
If repairs cannot be accelerated, the council must at least provide a proper alternative space. To do nothing is to spell out one word with cruel clarity: betrayal.
Mark Sherman, Glasgow.
Man, what a change in 33 years
The unpredicted late-stage intervention of advocacy body TransLucent in the Sandy Peggie case has its genesis in the fact that the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 do not define the terms “man” and “woman” (“Trans group to intervene in Peggie employment tribunal”, The Herald, September 1). At the time those regulations were drafted, the very idea of having to define a simple, inoffensive, term like man or woman would of course have been risible. But, 33 years on, times have changed alarmingly and even a grumpy old pedant like myself must – albeit reluctantly – try to move with them.
I can only reflect that Humpty Dumpty was remarkably prescient when he told Alice: “When I use a word… it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less”.
Iain Stuart, Glasgow.
Cardonald Library, which has been closed since September 2023 (Image: Newsquest)
Muchty me
I was interested to read John Marshall’s letter (September 1) about Muchty. My paternal grandparents and great-grandparents were born and lived in Muchty and I had relatives farming there, so I have a sentimental attachment to the town and count myself an honorary Fifer. My forbears lived there in the Bow Road, and I wonder if the Scots language enthusiasts know that the authentic local pronunciation of “Bow” is “Boo” as in Row and Cairndow? My father used to joke that the translation of the former Royal Burgh, “Dum Spiro Spero”, is “Aye keep speirin”.
David Kirk Speed, Helensburgh.
• A letter fae Auchtermuchty? Michty me, next there’ll be wan fae Auchenshuggle! Enough to drive me Bonkle.
Alastair Clark, Stranraer.
Preposition supposition
Andy McAdam’s letter (September 1) about prepositions reminds me of the old joke “his is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put”.
Whilst (or should that be while?) trying to follow the rules Mr McAdam and I were taught at school in formal writing, I imagine quizzical looks if I ask my good lady: “In which paper did you read that?”.
Perhaps the occasion determines the degree of formality.
David Miller, Milngavie.