Why no treaty to outlaw nuclear arms?

THE United Nations Chemical weapons inspectors see their job in Syria as a “totally humanitarian cause” and seemingly governments and people agree.

Chemical weapons, both in terms of their possession and use, have been banned under a legally-binding treaty. Despite a small number of countries signing but not destroying stockpiles and despite a number of countries not signing, internationally agreed treaties are seen as legitimate.

Because of the horrors of the use of cluster bombs and land mines, seen as a “totally humanitarian cause”, these too have been outlawed by treaty.

Why oh why, is it then not possible to see any campaign to ban the possession and deployment of nuclear bombs as a “totally humanitarian cause”?

The use of chemical weapons in Syria brought about a swift reaction because of the suffering.

Does the human race need to experience the aftermath of a nuclear bomb exploding before feeling the same revulsion? Unfortunately by then it will be too late for the human race.

Forces not 
the answer

From: Elisabeth Baker, Chairman, West Yorkshire Committee, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, Broomhill Crescent, Leeds.

HILARY Andrews’ suggestion (Yorkshire Post, October 15) that compulsory National Service in the Armed Forces could solve the “earn or learn” question is superficially attractive, but would be most unattractive to the Armed Forces themselves, however good it might be for the individuals involved.

First, of course, the idea would cover only those who were not either studying or in gainful employment, which could create all sorts of bureaucratic complications. Second, and fundamentally, so much technology and innovation is now involved that the Forces these days require extremely well-trained and committed individuals (whether regulars or reserves), not resentful, compulsory “cannon fodder”.

Some sort of local community service for the individuals in question would, however, be an ideal compromise.

Derailed by political mess

From: David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Holgate, York.

BRITAIN introduced railways to the world. We had one of the best railway networks anywhere in the world up to 1919.

British governments of all persuasions under-funded the railways, probably because they were often very unionised.

This lack of investment got worse after the Second World War and after nationalisation in 1948. When John Major was re-elected in 1992, things got even worse. In 1993, the Tories decided to privatise the whole of British Rail, but they hardly ever consulted with all the experienced “true” railwaymen. Only a set of politicians could have set up such an organised mess. They broke up our railway system into over 100 different segments (Tony Lodge, Yorkshire Post, October 14).

The Conservative government then devised a large and cumbersome regulation system to manage it. The cost of subsidy to these separate rail companies is nearly five times what poor old British Railways ever received from any previous UK government.

Despite all these horrendous errors, the demand for travelling by rail has gone up, and what is the answer proposed by our politicians? HS2! Unbelievable. The biggest white elephant ever.

Silent fields and skies

From: John Harrison, Rushmoor Road, Holmewood, Bradford.

WHERE have all the birds gone?

Over the last three years I have walked every inch of the Tong valley and have become very aware that bird life immediately to the east of Tong School appears to have almost disappeared of late.

An array of birds; chaffinches to blackbirds, from wrens to long-tailed tits have made my summers so sweet, but now they appear to have gone. Last year I watched the stonechat on its migration from the west singing proudly from a fence post, but this year no sign of it or its cousin the whinchat. The only change in the area has been the creation of a football pitch and some extensive drainage work. Has this “moved” the birds on?

To the north the area around the Springfield farm boasts hundreds of lapwings, some golden plover, while all year round a sparrow hawk and up to three buzzards patrol the skies. The latter roams all across the valley over Tyersal, Tong and Holme Wood; but for how long? The truism is, if you build onto land in the countryside you not only destroy animal and bird habitats, but you also ruin the surrounding area for them as they move away from new developments. If the valley is to shrink further as proposed by Bradford’s plan for new houses then the land and air for birds shrinks. It is not long before species disappear forever.

I would be grateful if anyone who has noticed changes across the Tony Valley and Westgate Hill would contact me in an attempt to understand our very real losses and/or to prepare for the next battle against the unnecessary building developments that Bradford Council may be proposing for the area.

Nightmare headlines

From Terry Duncan, Bridlington, East Yorkshire.

I AM in my 70s and reckoned, until this past week, that I retain most of my facilities.

However, as a Tory, I am becoming worried that I have had a nightmare, that our leader, Prime Minister David “U-turn” Cameron, ordered the Treasury to spend millions of taxpayers’ money on the Leveson Inquiry to sort out suggestions on how the Press be policed.

I dreamt that dozens of high-profile personalities and newspaper barons and editors gave weeks of evidence.

Now, Sir Brian Leveson has presented his report to the current government led by our Dave. But it appears that Cameron, Clegg and Miliband have got together, and torn up the report – in the main accepted by the newspaper industry – and tossed it on to a bonfire, just to appease their own politicians.

Creeps, all of them!

Joe Public love their newspapers. The electorate of this country control the Press – if they don’t like their newspaper, they will stop buying them.

The politicians should learn they are just a bunch of easy-riders with big salaries and greater expenses sheets who are steadily losing all credibility with the voters. It is time they shut up and accepted the report as written by the eminent Judge Sir Brian Leveson.

I now know it was not neither a nightmare nor a dream.