STRUGGLES in Brazil may seem a long way away from life in Scotland – however, events which are unfolding in Brazil just now may well affect us all. The indigenous peoples of Brazil are currently facing a co-ordinated attack by the Brazilian government which is leading towards genocide and ecocide. There are legal challenges and a raft of new bills being pushed through that are focussed on legalising the removal of indigenous peoples from the Amazon and accelerating the destructive extraction and exploitation of the forest.
The Amazon is really close to a tipping point where it would turn into a savannah grassland. Already the Amazon is emitting more carbon than it absorbs, most of which is being emitted from the most exploited areas of the forest. If the Amazon goes, this will be devastating in terms of the global climate. The indigenous peoples of Brazil are trying to protect the Amazon and are putting their lives on the line, with many remote isolated groups already being violently attacked. On August 25, the Supreme Court in Brazil will be deciding whether the Xokleng people have a right to a large portion of land they are protecting. This case will set the precedent for huge areas of disputed land in the forest across Brazil, so could allow the destruction of significant parts of the Amazon if the judgement is against the Xokleng people.
They are asking for international support as they face their potential genocide and the ecocide of the Amazon. At the very least, we could pay attention.
Paul Mather
Aboyne
DOMINIC Cummings is directly responsible for the empty shelves and job losses. These were not unexpected, but entirely predicted. He knowingly has ruined lives and businesses. It’s not someone you can have respect for. The exodus of EU workers began the day the votes were counted, yet Cummings and friends still went ahead with their wall. People have been streaming out with the entry gates empty, yet still they built a Trump wall.
READ MORE: Dominic Cummings in Ullapool: Vote Leave chief in three-hour Brexit and indy debate
I’m no superforecaster, but I saw this coming a mile off. Hell, if half the population of one of the founding partners of the UK want out, why the hell would anyone want in? It’s only the utterly desperate coming now; they are prepared to suffer the racist abuse from Brits as it’s still better than having your daughter raped and your hands cut off by the Taliban. All the skilled workers with an EU passport are getting out while they still can – 1.3m left in 2020 and they continue to cram the exit gates.
I imagine when Cummings is in a supermarket and there is only a few packets of loo rolls left, he’ll take them all for himself, even though he campaigned for the empty shelves. That’s the kind of selfish, “me me me” person he is.
When I see Cummings volunteering his time in a Highland restaurant kitchen that can’t get a chef because he told them to, in effect, “go back to where you came from”, I might start to have some respect.
Or maybe he’s so thick he never saw this coming. It’s that or he’s just an evil, selfish Tory.
The one thing we can thank him for is breaking up the UK. That’s his legacy. It’s just a pity so many people have to suffer so much Brexit pain in that process.
Ross Anderson
Posted online
WE must ensure that our wind-generated energy and water do not experience the same fate as “Scotland’s Oil”.
They cannot and must not be considered a UK resource in any final accounting during Scotland’s (hopefully, soon to be) exit from the UK.
On one of his flying visits to unchartered territory north of the Border, England’s choice of PM waxed lyrical about the “super highway” that was scheduled to be developed as part of the UK-wide infrastructure policy his government was enacting. A green energy, unidirectional, super highway.
Now we are hearing about an equivalent water infrastructure project. Water from Scotland being piped south to supply the needs of the north of England.
It is an absolute imperative that Scotland has voted for independence before these projects reach completion and valuable, Scottish natural resources are subsumed into the “what’s yours is ours” UK mantra when accounts are settled.
Surely our oil experience, from the depletion of our natural resource to its sale to private enterprise and its mismanaged governance (leaving no Norway-style benefit), should be a lesson for all our futures.
As the damage from Brexit hits our economy the clock is ticking. We do not have endless amounts of time to secure our future; to secure our resources.
The SNP now need to accelerate their drive and arguments for independence aided and abetted by the Greens.
Surely the time has come, and with an independent Scotland, a Westminster Government will be free to buy these commodities from us to meet its needs and we will be delighted to sell... for a small profit, of course.
I Easton
Glasgow
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