Wednesday's Letters: Let's get back to reality and forget the fantasy

Both major parties are too scared to tell the truth for fear of losing votes and one cannot blame them for that, since the vast majority of the population couldn't care less. The recent scandals have given them the opportunity as an excuse not to vote in the coming election.

The nation over the last 30 years has grown soft, selfish and morally decadent. The gigantic benefits system, having grown out of all

proportions, has made many of our people very self-centred and completely dependant upon others. It has invited millions from overseas to get here by any means on the pretext of asylum. There seems to be absence of will power to stop smoking or to refrain from addictive drugs. We scream for banning new ones knowing full well it won't make any difference.

Many of our children and younger adults are unable to think for themselves but rely on calculators and computers. Overpaid footballers are gods and TV talentless celebrities the goal for a career. Children are being neglected, abused, cruelly treated and murdered.

Everyone else, including the TV media, is ready to blame, condemn, or criticise the Government, their local councils, the police, social services or even their own doctor. It's other people who make mistakes, a human fault, but not me!

We depend upon foreign labour because we lazily accept benefits as a means of income rather than take a lowly paid job on, and continually press the Government for more.

Most thinking people know fully well the coming years will mean static incomes, much more unemployment, and a scramble for entrepreneurs to keep and expand the businesses in the face of very strong competition. The unions will erupt as they did in 1978-79 and it will only be the Tories who will be able to handle it, for the Labour Party is union owned.

My own reasoning based on experience is although I too, am very unhappy about the greedy politicians, we still have to maintain an effective Parliament. At least we know the familiar faces in office now so to vote for unknown independents and lesser parties could be a disaster.

We used to put more into society than taking out. It seems to be the reverse now so let's get back to reality and not fantasy. We must let the wealth makers expand their efforts, for that is where employment will come from.

From: Len Fincham, Warrels Road, Bramley, Leeds.

Grey area for juries with higher ages

From: Brian V Large, St Wilfreds Close, North Muskham, Newark, Notts.

REGARDING your report "Ministers unveil plan for grey juries" (Yorkshire Post, March 17, I cannot believe my eyes! Have I really just read, however briefly, that ministers have unveiled a plan to actually call people in their 70s, 80s, and even 90s for jury service?

These Ministers cannot be said to have taken leave of their senses,

when they have patently no senses of which to take leave.

These are the so-called "brains" whom we elect to rule the country with compassion and some sense of realism, yet who are such an obvious disappointment to us all.

How can they be so utterly unaware of the problems of old age as to even give voice to such a hare-brained idea? They obviously learn nothing.

It is all very well when you're fit and 40, but beyond the age of 70, apart from increasing tendencies to go deaf, blind, nod off and

sometimes even snore, health and mobility for many of us can

deteriorate alarmingly, as these unthinking oafs would discover if they took the trouble to sit for a week in the outpatients departments of their local hospitals. Indeed, some 600,000 of us are said to be

suffering from dementia.

At nearly 78, I look well but have an incurable illness and am kept

alive and, at present, reasonably fit by, among many other things, fortnightly blood transfusions which take all day, interspersed by

visits to outpatients to see my consultant.

The clinics there are full of mostly elderly people, many of whom are badly disabled. What I am able to do with the rest of my life and time, which could be short, takes very careful planning so I'll be damned if I'm sitting on any jury. Try me!

We can make a difference

From: Andrew McKeon, Rigton Hill, North Rigton.

KARL Sheridan could not be more wrong (Yorkshire Post, March 26) in his letter when he says the likes of you and me contribute virtually

nothing to creating global warming.

If he is blaming others and governments about the destruction of rainforests and encroachment of palm oil plantations, who does he think eats all the hamburgers and processed food products and the like that lead to these man made disasters?

It's not governments, but every man, woman and child on the planet. Yes we do have control over these things. People may feel helpless in the face of huge multi-nationals carving up the planet for their own gain, but unless change begins with individuals and people change their habits, climate change will get worse and it will adversely affect everyone be they big or small polluters.

As the Copenhagen conference last year showed, we cannot wait around for governments to agree on concerted action. As Gandhi said: "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Language lessons

From: John Gordon, Whitcliffe Lane, Ripon.

YOUR recent supplement urging Yorkshire firms to think globally (Yorkshire Post, March 16) raises yet again the problem of foreign languages. English is now the language for world trade, but that does not stop the importer thinking in his own language, and the exporter who can socialise in that language often gets the edge.

Psychologists have proved that we use only about 500 words in our everyday conversation, so that the degree of perfection in the different skills of reading, speaking and writing grammatically for which our schools strive is quite unnecessary in the case of the average businessman.

A working knowledge of the spoken language can be acquired in as little as eight hours' work. Courses like those of Michel Thomas and Dr Pimsleur offer a basic audio vocabulary that can be reapplied at will (not the rote learning of the travel books).

I have found that the native speaker is always impressed that you have taken the trouble to learn his language and, what is more, he is never quite sure how much you know. That's when you have gained a

psychological advantage.

Unwelcome diversions on the information highway

From: David Collins, Westfield Drive, Skelmanthorpe.

ACCORDING to a recent article, 10 million lives will be improved with access to the internet. Hmm.

I have been an avid computer user since 1978 and as a business tool it has been an absolute godsend.

Now I have retired, my wife thinks I am an internet junkie.

However, I take issue with the statement that the internet can improve anyone's life. At best, it is useful tool but, at worst, it can be a complete pain in the nether regions. Information gleaned from the internet via search engines is not a factual record. Often it is an opinion, a biased judgment, or just plain wrong.

To ensure you have some degree of accuracy, you need to study various sources on any one issue for what seems like an eternity. Also, you are inundated with commercial sites only vaguely related to the subject you wish to explore.

Many websites on the internet require you to enter a user name and password, this applies to sites from government to the most frivolous. At the last count, I had 33 different protected sites and one is not supposed to write these names and passwords down for fear of the devil himself getting at your account. The internet can be a very useful communication and information highway, particularly for the suppliers of web sites, as the user has to do all the work, entering information, reading incomprehensible instructions, dealing with meaningless jargon, re-entering information when the system crashes.

If you have high blood pressure (like me) or are of a nervous

disposition, or subject to sudden bouts of rage then the internet is

not for you.

As for me, well I composed this on my computer and contacted the Editor by e-mail. Obviously no hope for this grumpy old man.

One last thought – maybe 9.5 of the 10 million have no interest in accessing the internet.

Blair is no asset to Labour

From: RC Curry, Adel Grange Close, Leeds.

ONE wonders by what strange logic the Labour Party considers that Tony Blair will be of any electoral benefit to them.

As obfuscator-in-chief in the Iraq war, both before the event and in his recent appearance at the Chilcot inquiry, one can only be appalled at his gall in accepting such a misguided request. At a time when bankers are being pilloried for making obscene bonuses, and as Blair is widely reported to have been busy lining his pockets over recent years, is there not a whiff of hypocrisy in the Labour Party air?

Although there are numerous regular reports of the gullible being taken in by conmen and losing their life savings to over-the-rainbow

catchpenny schemes, surely the electors will not be daft enough to fall for this one?

Time signal

From: Mrs Annie Painter, Spring Lane, Crofton, Wakefield.

WHY do we have to endure the ancient tradition of altering the hour? Some say it is so the farmers have more light and some say it is to signify the arrival of summer joy.

I say it is a pointless exercise especially when you have young children and they are not tired at night and then really tired in the morning. No need for expensive election campaigns because the party who abolishes this clock changing custom has my vote and probably every other exhausted parent's vote too.

True debts

From: Godfrey Bloom. UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

I WAS delivering a lecture to a senior school economics faculty in West Yorkshire last week when I heard the same misunderstanding of economics as shown by Ralph Musgrave (Yorkshire Post, March 26).

If you add private funding initiatives and public sector pension liabilities, our national debt is significantly higher than any time in our history.

Indeed if we were, as we should, be obliged to show our accounts according to international standards, it would be plain for Mr Musgrave to see.

Fred's story

From: Dr Hilary Andrews, Wentworth Court, Leeds.

WE recently visited the newly erected statue of Fred Trueman – our Fred – in Skipton. There was no indication as to who it was. We are 70 years-old and obviously know his achievements, but what of future generations? Are there plans to name him?