I AM not, and never have been, a fan of Gordon Brown but in recent weeks, to my surprise, I am beginning to feel sorry for him.
Talk about kicking a man when he’s down! You expect it from the Opposition but some of his own party are really putting the boot in now.
The thing that tipped the balance for me was the castigation he is getting for showing emotion when talking of the death of his baby daughter.
Fifty-two years after losing our two-year-old son I can still fill up with memories of him.
The British have always had a leaning towards sticking up for the underdog, so if the Opposition and those in his own party keep making Mr Brown a scapegoat for all the wrongs of the past 12 years, we may find that however unlikely at present he and his party could be returned to office.
mrs n clarke
Almondbury
Beating the dirty rat
I NOTE from the Examiner (February 13) that some people in Ravensthorpe are terrified about having problems with rats.
It’s estimated that in this country alone the present rat population is 60 million and set to increase unless it is controlled.
Rats are intelligent creatures. They can withstand poison and stay hidden until people leave rubbish around for easy food for them or their lair is disturbed, as was the case in Ravensthorpe.
It’s a fact that rats are growing larger and healthier and an adult rat can grow up to 22ins long. People can also die from the Weil’s disease which you catch from contact from rats’ urine if it comes into contact with broken skin.
It’s very important that rats are dealt with or we will have a major problem on our hands.
colin vause
Marsh
History of ignorance
ONE reason for the recent crop of offensive references in the Nazi-influenced drinking game, invented and promoted by Huddersfield University students, and the misguided statements of a politically active Mirfield youth, is the way history is taught.
Young people today know very little of the century they were born in when that is the most important period influencing their lives.
It’s not many years since the Tudors and Stuarts were as far as school leavers got in history lessons.
Some of us were adults before we learned about the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions in spite of having been born and bred among smoking mill chimneys and polluted streams and rivers.
History is a fascinating subject, aspects of which have profoundly influenced many lives. We neglect recent history at our peril.
philip charlesworth
Waterloo
Tough on dog owners
I TAKE my hat off to Lisa of Meltham (Dog Owner, Examiner, February 13) when she says she is appalled at the amount of dog faeces around Broadlands recreation area in Meltham.
It’s now over 16 years since I first wrote about all the dog filth which litters most public places in Kirklees, yet nothing has been done to make a clean up. In fact this problem is now worse.
Kirklees do not know how to tackle this problem. In 1996 they told us they had a bright idea of tackling dog fouling and that was spraying areas with a repellent.
This was a waste of public money and did not work.
The only way to tackle this problem is to employ more dog wardens who have the guts to fine dog owners who don’t clean up after their dogs. The money to pay these extra wardens would come from fines.
I would also like to see dog licence back at £100 a year, with dogs for the blind exempt. I would also do away with those stupid leads that extend 20-30ft. Dogs should be walking by the side of their owners at all times.
h barrowclough
Waterloo
Terrorists’ war
IT SEEMS politicians and the military top brass are unaware that modern warfare is a civilian endeavour perpetrated by civilian anarchists.
These terrorists have so far not been identified as combatants. They are given their human rights status, even after committing mass murder.
Many years ago Middle East countries lost numerous wars with Israel. Their response, on realising they could never beat Israel in conventional open conflict, was to conduct war by stealth (terrorism).
Many modern countries came into being through terrorist activity.
We have seen this at home over many years, and will probably see it in Ireland again, as another generation grows up dissatisfied with present peace agreements.
It’s time the Government ditched its politically correct stupidity and applied human rights only to those worthy of them. The remainder should be treated as they treat others.
They should recognise that terrorism is a modern form of warfare and realise that poking our nose into other people’s countries is no longer acceptable.
len sandford
Lepton
Sordid climate scam
WHAT climate change? The truth is now emerging about this sordid scam. The truth will out, as the saying goes.
The story starts with dying polar bears. The polar bear colonies are thriving. Emphasis is now being placed on the Arctic ice shelf melting. It is still the same size as it was in 1947 (US satellite survey 2009).
Another statement claimed that the Himalayan glaciers were vanishing rapidly. In some areas they were not. They are thickening and advancing rapidly in one region (Indian Government survey 2009).
We were warned that sea levels would rise alarmingly. In the past 30 years sea levels in the Pacific basin have stayed the same (Maldive Islands research project).
Global temperatures have not changed since 1960. This is the result of research which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is refusing to pass on.
They are not willing to co-operate with the requests from the media to publish. This is in defiance of the Freedom of Information Act.
There is not global warming. The world’s governments are being asked to throw billions of taxpayers’ dollars at a problem which does not exist. It is time to shout ‘stop’.
David Cuttell
Holmbridge
Lindley Moor baht plan
I’VE lived in close proximity to Lindley Moor for 50 years and I’ve seen the traffic flow become greater and greater. We were surrounded by fields and now we have this mishmash of buildings.
The plan to develop Lindley Moor is very vague at the moment. The developer doesn’t seem to have any customers. Where’s all the new sewage and surface water going to go? We must be close to capacity as it is.
It’s all very well the councillors saying they have to adhere to Government guidelines, but the people who draw up those guidelines don’t live round here. This development is not going to benefit Huddersfield.
Brian Dobson
Lindley
Panto beauty
ONCE again it’s pantomime time in Almondbury (Methodist Church: Sleeping Beauty). Thanks to the advert in the Examiner there was a good turn-out for the first night. Once again they made an old Irish man very happy.
All the cast were great, and the kids were brilliant on and off the stage. If you want your kids to be on their best behaviour send them to the pantomime at Almondbury. Thanks to them all.
Samuel Quinlan
Almondbury
Extra questions
PLANS for a Tesco extra supermarket in Huddersfield prompt questions about traffic.
The only two roads you can use to enter or exit the store are Leeds Road and Southgate. Will these two roads cope with the extra traffic generated by the supermarket or will extra traffic lights be required? Will shoppers use the new supermarket as a one stop shop and not venture across Southgate to the town centre? Granted the new supermarket will create 300 jobs, plus some from the Viaduct street development, but will these two developments have a negative effect on the town centre through more shop closures and job losses? In this economic climate with Kirklees council forecasting financial cutbacks and 1500 job losses over the next few years, why should council tax payers have to part finance a new sports centre, replacement car park and rehouse the tenants from the Ibbotson and Lonsbrough flats costing tens of millions of pounds? Tesco should finance all costs involved in this plan.
I was under the impression there was a social housing shortage and yet 86 social housing units are to be demolished. I suppose it makes sense to some, Tesco especially.
MG
Crosland Moor
