30 September, 2006

Don't fingerprint kids

WE WERE alarmed to discover from concerned parents that the practice of fingerprinting schoolchildren as young as five years old, in some cases without parental consent, is being introduced to a number of Scottish schools as part of a high tech biometric ID system to access school libraries.

The news has provoked shock and anger among many parents, who share Green MSPs' concern that children are being encouraged to surrender their civil liberties without question. The Scottish Executive's response however was one of total indifference. An indifference which worries us.

We think many parents will be deeply shocked to learn that their children are being fingerprinted without their knowledge or consent for something as simple as a school library. We cannot imagine any justification for such intrusive use of technology in schools - school libraries should not just be about the books themselves, but about children learning to be trusted with the books they borrow, not fingerprinted like petty thieves.

Besides we would rather lose a few books than lose our civil liberties. We should be encouraging children to understand and value their liberties, not undermine them in the classroom. At the very minimum we would want an assurance that no school will go ahead with this system without a full and open debate with parents about the implications of fingerprinting, and no child should be fingerprinted without their parents' or guardians' consent.

We urge parents to contact their local school to object, or even to find out if your child has already been finger-printed without your consent.

For more information about the fingerprinting of schoolchildren please don't hesitate to contact us, or go to: www.leavethemkidsalone.com

Sincerely,

Eleanor Scott
Green Highlands & Islands MSP 



29 September 2006

Can't afford to lose Smyril

THOSE who criticise the investment made in Smyril Line by the Shetland Islands Council should realise that the large number of visitors that come here on the Norröna bring a significant income into the Shetland economy.

This income translates into jobs, mostly in tourism and related industries. Maybe those who complain about the investments have a secure job regardless and are quite comfortable with their situation.

We live in an isolated group of islands in the North Sea. Connections with the outside world are fundamental to our way of life, prosperity and even to our very existence here and, like it or not, the cost of these connections is considerable.

It is sufficient to look at the size of the grant that the Scottish Executive, thankfully, provides to NorthLink Ferries to see that this is true. The comparatively modest sum invested by the SIC in Smyril Line has helped to provide our only ferry link with Europe and Scandinavia. Can we afford to lose that link? I don't think so.

Tony Erwood,
Lunna House,
Vidlin
tony.erwood@zetnet.co.uk



22 September, 2006

HERE WE go again!

Our wonderful council is once more taking the "easy way out" in the latest proposals of cuts in services.

It strikes me that the needs of both ends of the age spectrum are constantly being bombarded. Firstly where and when our children are taught - with high quality and dedication of teachers and supporting staff - with no insight into the extra pressure that prolonged travel and sometimes difficult access of parents in times of crisis.

Then, to add insult to injury, vulnerable people, whether they are disabled, elderly or in need of extra support, are easy targets for service cuts because they don't or are not in a position to fight back.

OK, along with the rest of the UK we have an increasing senior population. I am part of those statistics, and have mobility problems. Does that mean that I, along with many others, are not worthy of consideration of council/social services as and when they may be needed?

Many of us senior citizens have worked all our adult life, paid and are continuing to pay taxes. Is it too much to ask for something in return, particularly when the investment of the oil revenues was intended for the betterment of ALL our citizens?

As has been reported recently, we have an elderly council in need of younger blood to take on the challenges of the future of Shetland. I hope those who will retire soon or are not re-elected never have to wait to be assessed or be in need of services in the future, because they won't be available.

I have to agree with Mr Learmonth (SSP) that too much of Shetland's money is going outwith the islands, often into non-viable projects, when it could be much better spent at home.

Sincerely

Mrs S. Willshaw

12 September 2006

Letter: The BT runaround

BT HAS confounded me. I didn't believe that it would be impossible to have a problem solved by them!

I know it wasn't my spending six hours on the phone to BT Broadband, BT Faults, BT Complaints or Tavish Scott that forced BT to admit there was a problem in the Vidlin exchange area for broadband users; they knew a major fault in the North of Scotland had occurred and been fixed on Wednesday.

I first checked I wasn't the only BT Broadband customer who had lost internet access. Broadband technical services asked me to follow standard procedure, as it was my system that needed checking.

I refused, explaining that I wasn't alone in having the service down. It took three hours of calls to make BT Broadband check for any fault with BT Faults, they were told there were no problems.

The same happened when I spoke to BT Faults. They kept checking the line and could find no reason for the broadband not working even when I reminded them I wasn't the only client, private and commercial without internet access.

I offered other numbers that could be checked but the operator told me I had no authority, the faults had to be individually reported! I even had the phone put down on me by BT Faults because I insisted there was a problem and they had to deal with it.

I went through the operator, getting direct access to a lady in complaints (accounts) who told me, before transferring me on to Technical Faults Centre of Excellence in Scotland, to demand to speak to a manager if I wasn't satisfied.

I ended up back in New Delhi going through the same old routine. I put the phone down after he wouldn't listen. He sent a voice mail to tell me how to check my router! He did try contacting Faults but when I called them I was told they hadn't received a call.

I do not know who - Tavish Scott, a private or business client, Shetland News or other, succeeded in getting BT to rectify the invisible fault. I still do not know which BT company has responsibility for reported broadband based faults, I just know I will get the same run around.

Barbara Ford
Skeo Green
Lunning
Vidlin
rkb.ford@btinternet.com




8 September 2006

Shame on the trustees

IS CLLR Angus the only councillor with a conscience?

Shame on the trustees. Charity may begin at home but requires an ethical basis to bear the name.

Get rid of the 'unethical' at the next council elections.

Yours sincerely
James Paton
26 Smalewell Road
LEEDS
West Yorkshire
jamespaton.1@ntlworld.com