History shows we must not allow Putin to keep his ill-gotten gains

The Ukrainian people wanted to draw the economy into Europe. A president had to flee Ukraine after obeying Russia instead of the people.

The part about Russian acts of war is right. There was never any military threat to Russia, just the loss of Soviet imperial glory.

Russian violence on Ukrainian soil has never stopped since March 2014. It is very clear to the people of Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland that they are next. Russia invaded them all in 1939, the very month when Russia helped Hitler invade Poland.

Russia had invaded all those countries earlier in history. The third world war is about the third Russian Empire.

There is no point in a treaty allowing Vladimir Putin to keep his gains just as there was no point in allowing Hitler to keep Czechoslovakia. Dictators come back for more, because conquest is their idea of glory. They start comparing themselves to emperors of the past.

If we betray our friends and betray the cause of liberty, we betray ourselves and we shall get to know it.
Tim Cox, Bern, Switzerland

Give Scots free diabetes monitors

HAVING watched the SNP leadership hustings streamed live from Glenrothes last Friday, I was struck by the candidates' apparent lack of knowledge relating to a question posed by an audience member who was Type 1 diabetic.

The lady in question claimed to have spent over £2,000 in the last year on CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring), and wished to know if the candidates would support a new campaign launched by Diabetes Scotland entitled “DiabetesTechCantWait”.

The campaign aims to encourage NHS Scotland to provide more funds for technology such as sensor kits, which significantly improve the quality of life for diabetics, by avoiding the need for multiple blood glucose-testing finger pricks. It takes the form of a monitor which is attached to the skin and effectively tracks glucose data at regular intervals throughout the day and night.

This is then recorded on a mobile phone app which includes a daily diary of results and an alarm that can be set up to trigger when blood glucose has reached high or low danger levels. The most popular monitor costs over £50 and lasts for 14 days. They are available free to Type 1 Diabetics in England and Wales but not up here in Scotland.

I can understand the fact that leadership hopefuls knew little to nothing of this campaign as it was only launched recently. However, I found the answer provided by Health Secretary Humza Yousaf in particular patronising in the extreme, given his brief. His lengthy waffle which included pointing out what we all know, that the NHS should be free at the point of use, not only served to empathise his lack of knowledge of the campaign but also demonstrated his total lack of understanding relating to the use of these monitors.

As a diabetic who regularly takes advantage of continuous glucose monitoring, I fully endorse the campaign to align Scotland with other members of the UK and provide the monitors free of charge.
Christopher H Jones, Giffnock

Read more letters: Donbas is not worth Armageddon – we must have peace negotiations without strings

Don't scapegoat Welsh police

I AM very sorry to learn about the deaths and injuries to the young people involved in the car crash in Wales ("Three die in crash riddle", The Herald, March 7). But it is also disappointing to hear people blaming the police for not finding the car sooner. When you see how the car was hidden among trees and note that thousands of motorists passed by without seeing it you can see why it took a while to find it.
William McCarron, Glasgow

We should cherish rare phone boxes

I HOPE Hull cares for its old cast-iron K8 public servants ("Nine rare cream phone boxes are granted listed status to mark ‘last in a line of classics’", The Herald, March 3), as little care is given to the four K8 phone kiosks that have acted as guardians and life-savers on the Erskine Bridge. From the 1970s, these K8s were the the last chance for help. Like Hull they are listed historic buildings, but unlike theirs they are utterly neglected.

Despite the solid contribution the phone kiosks made to helping people, their makers are given little attention. The surprising fact is, apart from 500 made in Warrington, the rest, 80,000 or so, were made by four central Scotland foundries within a 30-mile reach. Indeed although claimed by London, the red cast iron phone box originates in Falkirk; the first GPO contract to make 500 K2 phone kiosks for London was won by Carron Company in 1927. They would then share the production until the last PO contract in 1982 which also marked the closure of Carron Co and the Lion foundry, who made two each of the K8s on the Erskine Bridge.

Made in Scotland but not cared for in Scotland.
Duncan Comrie, Falkirk Made Friends Secretary, Glasgow

Initial concerns

WILLIAM Loneskie's excellent letter (March 7) points out that the abbreviation DRS stands for Direct Rail Services and not this troublesome new Deposit Return Scheme. However, for me, as a cricket fan, DRS can only mean cricket's very sophisticated Decision Review System designed to assist match officials in their decision-making – most often in response to LBW (leg before wicket) appeals. Cricket's DRS is a bit like football's VAR (Video Assistant Referee), although a lot less controversial.

Incidentally, while looking at the abbreviation DRS further, I found that it also means motor sport's ingenious Drag Reduction System designed to make overtaking easier and, consequently, the racing more exciting. Further, while checking Google, I discovered that there are very few random combinations of three capital letters that don’t mean something. For example cricket’s LBW alone boasts 17 meanings including Low Birth Weight, Low Battery Warning and Love Before Wedding. Clearly careful research is needed before proposing (apparently) new abbreviations (like DRS).
David K Gemmell, Lanark

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