Sunday, 10 January 2010

Any attempt to democratise the Yemen will be doomed to failure. The British tried to impose such a system for almost 20 years and failed. The feudal and tribal system is radically different from our democracy, but is respected and, more importantly, works successfully with the indigenous population. A relevant quotation is from a Sultan in Aden at the time: “Stop trying to impose your kind of federation on us and leave us to work it out ourselves.” That speaks volumes.

I read with some trepidation the mention of US air strikes, tried in the 1960s and failed, and shortages of helicopters, exactly the complaint of British forces in the 1960s.

Approximately 135 British were killed and 900 wounded in Aden. I urge the politicians to look at the history and learn the lessons before committing the UK to yet another unwinnable conflict.

Myra S Cameron

Bothwell

Don’t disagree with Gordon

I saved what I could over the last few years (more fool me) when Gordon Brown preached that savings were unproductive and everyone should spend, even money they did not have (Revive the spirit of Thatcherism ... and bring the bankers to book, Opinion, January 3). He promised no end to the good times and as Iain Macwhirter writes, we all participated in the creation of the credit economy. Except I didn’t play ball and Mr Brown doesn’t like people who disagree with him.

Now I disagree with his giving the banks my tax money to play with to create a stock-market bubble (again) and encourage house prices to go up (again) while he keeps interest rates low so my savings lose value. So Mr Brown definitely doesn’t like me as I keep disagreeing with him and, with no other credible plan to reduce the Government debt, if he gets the chance he will inflate away the deficit -- and my savings with it.

So, you see, it is dangerous to disagree with Gordon Brown and make him not like you but I think he will understand if I do not vote for him. Or maybe I am just paranoid.

Tom Crozier

Ayr

Bring back our savings banks

One aspect of Margaret Thatcher’s relationship with banking not covered by Iain Macwhirter was her conversion of our service-oriented Trustee Savings Banks, at which ordinary people could and did easily open and ­operate small accounts, into part of the profit-oriented banking system which many people find much less easy to use. The Farepak disaster might have been avoided if Trustee Savings Banks had been available in which people could save safely for special occasions. Now Mrs Thatcher has retired and the profit-oriented banks are in bad odour, is it possible that a replacement for our Savings Banks could be invented?

David Stevenson

Edinburgh

John Kerr’s work goes on

I was delighted to read of Bob Holman’s admiration for John Kerr (Give away your wealth, shun the property ladder ... and together we’ll beat inequality, Opinion, October 3). As the caption displayed, John Kerr stood as a candidate in the Scottish parliamentary elections of 2007 for the Christian People’s Alliance (about to be relaunched under a new title).

We benefited enormously from John Kerr’s life experience and our policies on poverty and severe deprivation continue to reflect his lifetime’s work in Cranhill and also Bob Holman’s own experience in Easterhouse. We hope in the future to fund a community project in Cranhill in John Kerr’s memory.

Teresa Smith

Dumfries

Cooking up a revolution

In 32 years as a professional chef, the sous vide is the most innovative cooking process that I have come across (Away and boil your head ... and the world’s your lobster, Opinion, January 3). As Tom Shields points out, where the new world goes, we as a nation normally follow suit, albeit many moons later. This is madness, given that we lead in the world in many other fields. When it comes to hospitality we have certainly caught up in the culinary and service areas. And the quality of Scottish produce has never been in doubt.

How do we make it better, pushing the boundaries even further? Any business in our industry can only survive by being consistent, as regards the quality of every plate of food, every service, every day. We can’t have an off day, we can’t charge for mediocre offerings, whether the meal in question is a simple sandwich or a fine dining experience. Without a shadow of a doubt sous vide gives the chef or cook a better chance of getting it right: succulent chicken in a sandwich, perfectly cooked pink lamb, amazing halibut and sublime shin of beef.

This cooking method has been around since the 1970s when George Pralus (a Frenchman) joined forces with a food scientist to devise it. Clifton Food range is the only manufacturer in the field in the UK, and for two years, we have worked with them to help give chefs and cooks an introduction to sous vide, to take away the mystique and let them see where it can help their establishments. One of the most satisfying moments of this is seeing someone’s eyes light up when they see the results, then the joy when they taste the product. Awesome!

Behind the scenes in any working kitchen, chefs and cooks work away (through the night, early mornings, late, split shifts), often in difficult conditions and over long hours, with no time off during the festive period.

Within the industry there is a great camaraderie between chefs. Yes, there is rivalry, top chefs looking to achieve the highest levels of culinary expertise and recognition for their efforts, and many getting into the guide books, which is fantastic. What does this new decade hold? The Commonwealth Games for one, and the Ryder cup at Gleneagles (always close to my heart). We have the events, we just need to ensure we are ready to deliver world-class services. Two words: sous vide!

Colin Bussey

Managing director,

Food & Beverage Solutions Ltd

Inverlair, Ayrshire

Help insulate the economy

I fully endorse the WWF’s call for every house in Scotland to be given free loft and wall insulation to help meet the ambitious targets for cutting carbon emissions laid down in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act. The Scottish Government’s own figures show that for Scotland’s housing stock to achieve the intended 42% cut in emissions by 2020 it will cost £1.6 billion per year.

In this context, the £544 million for insulating lofts and walls in Scotland’s 2.3 million homes over the next 10 years seems a relatively modest price for the Scottish Government to pay.

Indeed, I would like to see the Government go further and offer realistic incentives for businesses to improve the energy efficiency of office and commercial premises across Scotland.

As our own submission to the energy efficiency action plan consultation highlights, this would not just be a big win for the environment. It would help sustain many construction jobs and apprenticeships, and equip our industry with the green skills needed to make the transition to the low carbon economy of the future.

Michael Levack

Chief Executive,

Scottish Building Federation

Who are the war criminals?

Hugh Humphries suggests Israel cannot be absolved of responsibility for “acting in a legal, civilised, humane manner towards the Palestinian people” (Letters, December 27). He must now be aware that Israel did exactly that, and if he calls it “war crimes”, then the allies in Iraq and Afghanistan are guilty of the same, especially when these two countries pose no existential threat to the West, unlike Hamas vis-a-vis Jerusalem. Furthermore, all allied politicians and generals should stand trial for war crimes and be arrested wherever they fly to. The same must apply to Yemeni officials. In contrast, we have now sadly come to terms with the Sudanese leaders escaping this scenario. What about the Palestinians’ responsibility for acting in a legal, civilised, humane manner towards the Israeli people?

If Mr Humphries and the Palestinian Authority supporters are sincere about a durable Middle East peace, they should campaign for the abrogation of all Palestinian charters still calling for the extinction of Israel. Furthermore, they should demonstrate in George Square against Cairo’s blockade of the Strip, and the very deep steel Egyptian apartheid wall with Gaza, intended to block Hamas’s tunnels, a wall very warmly welcomed by the anti-Hamas West Bank leader Abu Mazan, who at the same time is shamelessly rallying as many countries as he can to condemn Israel for its security barrier. How’s that for double standards?

A Soudry

Glasgow