EXCELLENT piece from the Wee Ginger Dug on the meeting between America’s president Joe Biden and our First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Johnson’s plan backfires as independence takes centre stage, Nov 4).
The mere fact that Johnson had denied her any official place at COP26, apart from an invitation to a private summit breakfast meeting with other UK and world leaders, simply backfired on his declared intention of keeping Nicola away from any involvement in COP26. That invitation turned out to be his undoing.
READ MORE: Humiliation for Tories as plot to stop Nicola Sturgeon meeting Joe Biden fails
What Johnson forgot was the fact that all other world leaders are not, as the Wee Ginger Dug would have it, as churlish as the UK Prime Minister. Joe Biden had obviously been aware of Boris’s schoolboy attitude and had prepared his own intention of meeting the First Minister in the way we have all read about in The National. Excellent copy, by the way.
Nicola Sturgeon, at the same venue, also met up with other prime ministers such as Justin Trudeau of Canada, Mohammad Shtayyeh of Palestine, Alexander De Croo of Belgium, Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, and the President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema.
So not a bad day’s work for our First Minister, who never lets the grass grow under her high heels. I wonder who Johnson managed to have a wee chat with?
Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife
SEVERAL weeks ago a Tory MP was reported in the Daily Mail as saying: “There are three objectives at COP26. Save the planet. Save the country. And stop Sturgeon from getting a photo with Biden”.
Well, in being recognised as the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon accepted, on behalf of the Scottish people, a gift of friendship of a large glass bowl from the US President. She was delighted to welcome him to Scotland and “looks forward to him returning” in the future.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon chats with Angela Merkel during VIP reception at COP26
The very prescient COP26 photograph of President Biden talking with FM Sturgeon acknowledges her as leader of the country where the global summit is taking place. Historically it conveyed that this Irish American understands the depth of feeling in Scotland for independence.
I am more certain than ever that our richly endowed nation with confidence in its future is more than capable of prospering in a world that respects its worth.
Grant Frazer
Newtonmore
SO the leaders of the known world have left the building. Hopped on to their private jets and headed home, secure in the knowledge that they will be out of office (except perhaps for Mr Putin) in 2050 or 2060 or 2070 when the various COP26 promises are not met. The sham of COP26 will apparently continue for another week. Protests will come and go. The leaders will not see or hear them.
The jolly junket will continue for the thousands of so-called delegates left behind. Maybe a few more celebrities will turn up and more selfies can be had. Plans for COP27 are in hand, and as it will be held in the holiday resort of Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, queuing in the cold will be less of a problem as it is usually over 30C there at this time of year.
READ MORE: Glasgow road closures as 'Fridays for Future' march route revealed in full
The leaders of China and Russia could even not be bothered to turn up in person. Boris has headed back to Westminster to continue his crusade against the poor. In the Amazon (the forest, not the company) the chainsaws can be heard revving up. COP26 has gifted them the best part of 10 years to chop down the remaining trees and fill the land with methane-producing cattle. Their president will be urging them on.
India has promised to be carbon-neutral by 2070. By then the world will be well on its way to global warming hell. Its many millions of poor people will still be poor and using fossil fuels to warm their meagre meals.
The Saudis will never want to stop selling their oil. The Chinese will continue to build coal-fired power stations at a rate more than one a week for the foreseeable future. Their poor people want to be rich people and need fossil fuel to achieve this understandable goal.
Poor old Scotland might as well open up the Cambo oil field as soon as possible. Maybe the Scottish Government could buy it and sell its gas and oil at cost price to our shivering population unable to afford the market price of gas, petrol and oil or to install heat pumps.
Hopefully the Scottish whisky industry will be able to ramp up production and possibly reduce prices, fuelled by renewable energy, to enable us all to drink ourselves into oblivion as the rain and wind engulfs us and the country slowly disappears into the rising sea sometime around 2090. I’m really glad I won’t be there to see it.
Brian Lawson
Paisley
BECAUSE of COP26, National Befriending Week has largely been overlooked, which is a great pity, as befrienders provide a vital service to their communities, helping the elderly, vulnerable and those living in isolation.
As someone who has suffered from mental health issues for years, I’d like to highlight the Good Morning Service and all its staff for their kindness, helpfulness and understanding.
Its 365-day-a-year safety-alert service is so reassuring for their clients and ensures that many vulnerable people receive the specialist attention they deserve.
Stephen McCarthy
Glasgow
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