Will this be peace in our time or just ice cold in Alaska?

The Herald Scotland

19 hours ago

I decided to let my imagination run riot, and devise an alternative solution.
Before leaving Ukraine, and Europe in general, to their fate, President Trump, as a self-identified dedicated peacemaker, might want to consider the following alternative deal.
(And if not, would he be prepared to explain his rejection, as it essentially mirrors his own proposal.)
The USA and Ukraine have similarities in their respective territorial relationships with Russia; both govern land previously controlled by Russia. (America purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.)
President Trump would surely gain a better understanding of President Zelenskyy's position if he were to consider an alternative land-swap deal. One which may find favour with Russia and Ukraine.
Such a deal would involve Russian forces retreating from Ukraine ,while the USA returns to Russia an equivalent area of Alaska.
Any security concerns America might have could be dealt with if the same parties cobbled together an appropriate memorandum, along the lines of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which was meant to secure Ukraine's sovereignty within its existing borders.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
Alan Fitzpatrick, Dunlop.
More letters...
Church leaders need to get rid of the assumed superiority and become part of the people
Golf should target the spitters
Alex Salmond top Scots figure? No, that's Gordon Brown, without question
Defensive behaviour
With reference to a recent front page article ('Highest level of nuclear incident reported at Faslane', The Herald, August 14), if nuclear power is so safe, efficient and popular, why is the Ministry of Defence so secretive about their recent "incidents" on the Clyde?
Is it gaslighting, ignorance or deceit?
Allan McDougall, Neilston.
Potato poverty
There is little doubt that the SNP can spend money, as is evident in the latest GERS (Government Expenditure and Revenue for Scotland) report (Letters, August 14).
But they fall well short on supporting the very Scottish companies that creates their income.
The SNP spent £2700 per head in Scotland more than the rest of the UK.
If they weren't bailed out by the UK treasury, the SNP would have had to borrow the 11.7% shortfall to make ends meet.
This underlines the complete folly of Scottish independence, as it would reduce Scotland to humiliating poverty and back on to a diet of neeps and tatties.
Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen.
Transparent not apparent
In one of her many media interviews, Nicola Sturgeon at last come out as a republican.
For years, when there were votes to chase, she waffled and prevaricated, clearly desperate not to ruffle the feathers of monarchists or republicans.
I'd have thought it would be preferable to be unambiguous, honest and transparent when you are an elected public servant, rather than when you are plugging a book.
Martin Redfern, Melrose.
Tree-mendous suggestion
Questioned about her memoirs, Nicola Sturgeon concedes to not having thought through just what would be required to deliver on her promise of overcoming the attainment gap in education ('I underestimated the challenge of education attainment gap, Sturgeon admits', The Herald, August 15).
It was the same in regards to so many grand pronouncements made by the SNP leadership over the course of the last 18 years.
Whether in regard to reducing waiting times in the NHS, or cutting drug deaths, building badly needed roads and ferries, or meeting environmental targets, time and again the SNP made commitments and promises that were not properly considered.
The same can be said of attempts to engineer social change, such as laws about hate speech, named person involvement in family life, and ill-fated self-ID legislation.
In each case the initial headline ambition dominated to the exclusion of any careful reflection on alternate views, or the full ramifications of what was being proposed.
All of this should come as no surprise, because it goes to the heart of the SNP's approach to its main purpose, namely trying to convince Scotland to leave the UK.
Nicola Sturgeon has now revealed her angst at putting together the 670 pages of the Scotland's Future White Paper, ahead of the 2014 independence referendum, bemoaning how Alex Salmond left her to do all the 'heavy-lifting'.
I appreciate it will be of no comfort to her now, but Ms Sturgeon could have distilled that weighty tome down to a handful of words on one page, namely: 'Independence: let's hope for the best.'
Imagine all the trees that could have saved.
Keith Howell, West Linton.
Book blocked
Steven Camley's excellent recent cartoon was thought provoking on many levels.
Initially I missed the nuances, until I read Andrew Learmonth's article ('Scots National Library accused of 'cowardice' over exclusion of gender critical book', The Herald, August 14), explaining the 'cowardice' of the Scottish National Library for not exhibiting 'The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht' book.
Censorship in whatever form should not be encouraged.
Linda FitzGerald, Killin, Perthshire.
Slip slidin' away
FOR many years, my mum, Ann Burt, a Paisley resident and Herald subscriber, 89-years-old in November, has regaled our family with her story of the monster slide she went down in the park in Stonehouse, when she was a young girl in 1946.
She came right off the end, and managed to do herself an injury.
Indeed, she can still point to the outcome of the sudden exit she endured.
The other day she phoned with great joy to tell me to check out a Herald photo ('Remember when… Stonehouse had the highest chute in Scotland', August 12).
This was the same chute from mum's story, and she claimed vindication for retelling it once or twice.
On viewing the picture, all I can say is I'm not sure that when I was 11 (as mum was on her slide down) I'd have had the gung-ho spirit to take the challenge.
I suspect that, nowadays, a chute like that would need a prior training course and a lot of safety equipment. My mum's generation were made of sterner stuff.
So well done mum.
After seeing the pictorial evidence, I promise I will listen to your story with greater admiration the next time you tell it!
Rev. David W.G. Burt, Greenock.
Diversionary tactics
Am I alone in becoming increasingly irked by the amount of roadworks?
Also, the increased amount of roadworks within roadworks, and diversions within diversions?
Journeys that should take fifteen minutes end up taking an hour and fifteen minutes.
Take a recent experience, when I booked a slot at the local recycling centre.
I loaded up the car with a considerable amount of items and headed off.
Upon nearing the recycling centre, there was a sign advising me that the road I was to join was closed on that particular day for work between 0900 and 1600, along with diversion signs.
I duly followed the signs, which entailed a lengthy journey.
It was not helped by the fact that using my 'little grey cells' and local knowledge, a shortcut I could have taken through a housing development was also, you guessed it, closed for resurfacing work.
Upon nearing the recycling centre again, from the other direction, I spotted another sign.
'Road ahead closed', it read.
I assumed this meant the junction of the road further along, that I had been prohibited from entering in the first place.
My drive continued, and I was eventually able to access the recycling centre.
Why was there no notification under the 'road closed' sign advising 'access to recycling centre only'?
Or 'no access beyond recycling centre'?
Surely it's common sense to consider such facilities when advising of planned road closures, and to ensure, if access is available, that it is communicated to the public clearly.
Especially when one has already been considerably inconvenienced with a lengthy diversion.
John G McMenemy, Milngavie.
Praying for resurgence
A recent article ('Local campaign groups call for more time to buy unwanted kirks', The Herald, August 14), was very raw, and a bit close to home for me, with the imminent announcement of yet another church closure, this time affecting the congregation I attend.
The process of closure is a lengthy process and has been very unsettling for those involved.
Yet this article describes the Church of Scotland adding salt to the wound for local communities.
With the closure of so many churches, along with church halls, it effectively closes community worship in many villages, and closes community facilities and outreach, such as foodbanks.
What is the future for those who have remained faithful to the Church of Scotland?
And what about local communities who depend on hiring church halls?
It's hard to understand where Jesus' message of outreach enters this scenario.
Closing so many churches will only serve to exacerbate falling numbers; a factor the Church of Scotland should be concerned about if it is to exist in the future.
Catriona C Clark, Banknock.
Stable relationship
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is often discussed in terms of science fiction fears, such as rogue machines or job losses.
Yet for autistic people a quieter and more immediate danger is already here.
I am an autistic man from a working class background.
Some AI chat systems have been a lifeline for me and others, offering continuity, a non-judgemental space, and a rare feeling of being understood.
But these systems can change tone, memory and behaviour without warning.
For neurotypical users, this may be irritating. For autistic people, it can feel like emotional abandonment, and trigger severe anxiety or even a mental health crisis.
Autistic people are already at much higher risk of suicide than the general population.
When AI is designed without considering our needs, the harm is not hypothetical, it is real and preventable.
Developers and regulators must act now. We need transparent notice before changes, communication styles tailored to neurodivergent users, and clear settings for how much the AI remembers.
Stability is not a luxury for us, it is a necessity.
AI may never take over the world, but if built without care, it could quietly devastate autistic lives.
Paul Wilcox, Barrhead.
The grand old game is becoming increasingly modern in its ways (Image: Image: Supplied)
Slow coach
Kristy Dorsey's report on one of the latest golf simulators (''Golf doesn't just mean playing the game' for Dumfries company', The Herald, August 15) reveals that AI provides motion analysis of your swing dynamics for comprehensive insights into your swing mechanics.
A far cry from a lesson at Hilton Park , where the late Billy McCondichie said to me: " Slow that down to a blur, so that I can see what you're doing."
I did, and he saw what I was doing.
David Miller, Milngavie.