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Total embarrassment

ENOUGH is enough! It is time for the council to cut their losses and demolish the bottom end of the town centre.

I had the misfortune to venture into this area last week and I was shocked at how bad it had become.

The area is a total embarrassment to the town, goodness knows what people visiting think of it.

There are still a few businesses trading there and the answer is obvious.

The main part of town is following the same pattern quickly with its ever expanding quantity of empty units, so why not move the ones from the bottom to the top!

The council has started an initiative to allow pop-up shops to open in town to test the water. Great idea – my only criticism would be don’t be selective on what type of businesses they allow, they should instead welcome any taker as I think they will be few and far between.

MISS KELLEY COLLINS

Lyndhurst Crescent

Swindon

Cheap pejorative insult

I ALWAYS feel saddened when political debate in your letter pages is cheapened by using insults rather that reasoned arguments.

The use by David Collins of the expression “lefty loonies” (SA September 9) is a gratuitous insult meant to either suppress debate by branding anyone who replies, to what is actually a fact and source free letter, as a lefty loony or to enrage them into making an equally long and meaningless letter, that can then easily be shot down.

Loony and lunatic are pejorative and insulting terms for people with mental health problems and should not be used at all, much less should they be used as terms of insult against political opponents.

Shame on you Mr Collins and I look forward to your letter apologising for the use of the expression and I am sure many other readers also look forward to it.

STEVE THOMPSON

Norman Road

Swindon

Iraq attack was wrong

WHEN Tony Blair put to parliament the motion that Britain should join the US and attack Iraq the reason he gave was Iraq had WMDs and that Iraq had violated the UN resolutions which required UN inspectors to inspect Iraq’s facilities.

The motion did not say that Britain should attack Iraq because Saddam Hussein is a nasty dictator, which Saddam undoubtedly was. Tony Blair now tries to justify Britain’s participation by saying that the attack on Iraq was justified because it removed a nasty dictator.

May I point out the under international law it is illegal to attack a country for the purpose of regime change.

There are equally, or worse, nasty dictators in power. However, neither the US nor UK are preparing to attack them. Indeed, they have treaties with some of them, which makes this argument smell of hypocrisy.

A motion of contempt of parliament is about to be debated by the parliament.

I urge everyone to write to their MP encouraging him or her to support this motion. It may be true that the parliament cannot impose any sanctions or punishment for this contempt.

However, the motion if approved will be of great symbolic value and serve as a warning to those in the government not to take reckless actions costing millions of lives.

SHAHID AZIZ

Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore (UK)