This week's letters

G4S is involved in running the Police service and the prison service for the Israelis where thousands of innocent Palestinians including hundreds of children are held without trial which is a flagrant breach of International Law.

Torture is routine in these prisons particularly in the Ketziot and Mesiddo prisons where ‘political prisoners’ are held, which again breaches International Law.

G4S also provides services to the illegal check points set up by the Zionists which restrict the daily movement of all Palestinians.

G4S also provides security at the Apartheid wall built by the Zionists which was built to steal more Palestinian land and to effectively imprison large numbers of Palestinians on the other side. This contract extension is worth £104,000.

I am proud of WDC in the humanitarian stance members have taken in support of the Palestinians in recent years.

I would urge the Tendering Committee to extend that humanitarian support and Solidarity by refusing this contract extension to G4S who are complicit in the occupation of Palestine, and the oppression of the Palestinian people.

Councillor Jim Bollan via email Lieutenant Commander Carla Higgins is to be congratulated on becoming the Commander of the Patrol Boat Squadron at Faslane.

However, it is a sad day when only two P2000 patrol craft in today’s navy make up a ‘squadron’ and our politicians ought to be ashamed at the funding cutbacks which have brought us to this sorry state. In my days in the navy, a squadron was at least six ships and I had eight minesweepers in the MCM10 RNR squadron which I was privileged to command as a reservist during NATO exercises. Looking on the positive side, If we had become independent, chances are that the two Patrol Craft would possibly have been the sum total of the Scottish navy, and Carla Higgins might presumably have been promoted up to Admiral.

Commander KF Speirs, RNR Retired We keep reading in our newspapers and hearing on our televisions about the unsatisfactory care that people receive in their homes.

Well I have been bed bound for over two years now and I can say the care I receive is wonderful.

My ladies take care of all my needs and treat me with greatest of dignity, I can honestly say that I look forward to their visits.

So I would like to say a big thank you to all the staff at quality care for their professionalism and kindness.

J Baker via email The SNP’s claims of the UK Government being anti-business after wind subsidy cut are hypocritical. It’s rather odd for Nicola Sturgeon to accuse the UK Government of being anti-business, when her own administration has blocked both fracking and new nuclear plants, both of which have the potential to create thousands of jobs.

Very many people in Scotland are supportive of the subsidy cut.

We don’t want to see windfarms covering every part of rural Scotland, especially when we already have enough to meet our renewable energy targets.

They certainly don’t want to be bankrolling them from their electricity bills at a level far above what is justified.

The SNP has to drop this fascination with wind energy and instead develop a balanced energy policy, with a focus on sources that are going to keep the lights on.

Alastair Redman via email I am writing to ask you and your readers to join me in supporting the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Schools events. You can take part in physical activity that is fun, rewarding and heart healthy. The activities will raise money for your school, as well as contribute to lifesaving research into heart disease.

I am urging schools in the Scotland to take part in a sponsored Skipathon or game of Ultimate Dodgeball in aid of the fight against heart disease.

These events promote the importance of maintaining a healthy heart through regular exercise whilst raising funds for the BHF’s lifesaving work into the fight against heart disease. The scheme also allows schools and youth groups to keep 20 per cent of the money they have raised, which they can put towards new equipment and resources to benefit their children.

Last year, BHF’s school events raised over an amazing £711,221. This year, we want to top this total and with your help we can.

Heart and circulatory conditions are responsible for nearly 15,000 deaths in the Scotland each year, that’s over 40 people every single day. We are asking people of the Scotland to sign up today and help the BHF to continue to save lives.

To find out more and to sign-up, visit bhf.org.uk/schools-event Beth Tweddle Olympic gymnast via email Let’s reignite the Paralympic flame!

What a treat to see Team GB’s paralympians such as Hannah Cockroft and David Weir competing once more in the Olympic Stadium on National Paralympic Day. It took me right back to the incredible euphoria of the London 2012 Games.

But three years on, has the Paralympic legacy survived? I work for Revitalise, a charity that provides respite holidays for disabled people and carers. We did a survey of our guests directly after the 2012 Paralympics and over half told us that they didn’t think the public had a better understanding of the lives of disabled people as a result of the Games. I dread to think what they might say now!

Disabled people have enormous potential. They want to play a part in society, to make a contribution, but all too often they are held back by the negative attitudes of society itself. The 2012 Paralympics did an enormous amount of good, but until we start thinking in terms of what disabled people can do, not what they can’t, there is little prospect of any lasting change. That’s why events like the Anniversary Games are so important, because they remind us of something that is so often hidden from view.

So I’d like to ask your readers to help us reignite the Paralympic flame. Please join us in calling for a society where disabled people have the same opportunities to pursue their dreams and make a meaningful contribution to their communities as everybody else.

For more information about our vital work or to support Revitalise, visit www.revitalise.org.uk or call 0303 303 0147.

Colin Brook Revitalise via email I read your article in this week’s edition of the Dumbarton Reporter which said that campaigners are warning of water dangers because young people have been hurling themselves into the Forth and Clyde Canal.

All I can say is that it’s about time.

I live near the railway bridge, where young people have been carrying out the stupid stunts and I have been saying to my husband that it’s only a matter of time before somebody gets seriously hurt or worse.

In fact, I noticed a couple of near misses just recently out walking my dog and was going to say something to the kids but decided against it.

I’m glad that members of our Police force and emergency services are stepping up to the plate but it cannot just be their responsibility.

Young people should know by now that fooling around near water is extremely dangerous - do we really need more education or campaigns to tell them that?

Perhaps more could be done for young people in the community, but you’re never going to stop people from messing around in the summer months.

And what about the dangers to the people who sail their boats in the canal?

These young people are not only risking their own lives but the safety of those around them and risk damaging other people’s property.

It’s just plain inconsiderate.

I hope that the efforts carried out help deter the youngsters from these dangerous activities- or we’re going to have a tragedy on our hands before long.

Grace Paterson via email AUSTERITY is a political project to transfer wealth from the poor to the rich and the Tory government’s recent budget showed they are ramping up their attack on ordinary people, be they in or out of work. Yet, as Jeremy Corbyn, the left wing candidate for the Labour Party leadership has said, a crackdown on the tax avoidance/evasion of £120 billion by the super rich and big business could end austerity and the politics of the cuts at a stroke.

West Dunbartonshire Branch of Unison is organising an anti-austerity day on Saturday, September 12 starting at noon running until 3pm, in the Hub Community Centre, Kilbowie Road, Clydebank.

We are inviting other trade unions and community groups to join us in an afternoon of anti-austerity discussion and music. Already we have had interest from the People’s Assembly, the anti-racist group Hope not Hate, anti-fracking activists and Clydebank Trade Union Council.

We want to build local opposition to ALL austerity and privatisation proposals from ANY politicians and feed into the Scottish People’s Assembly organisation which organised, along with the STUC, the recent Scotland United demonstration in Glasgow. Unison, STUC, a number of other unions and trade union councils (including Clydebank TUC) are affiliated to the Assembly.

If interested in getting involved contact the Unison Branch office on 01389 737246 or email Unison@west-dunbarton.gov.uk.

Tom Morrison Chairman West Dunbartonshire Unison