SIR – THE Worcester News reported on the determined plans of Malvern Hills District Council’s Conservative administration to hand over control of its waste collection to some private contractor, or other.
The reasoning behind this is allegedly the expected constriction of Government funding in the next few years.
The idea is that Malvern’s collection is merged with that of Worcester City and Wychavon, and savings of £1.6 million have been claimed but are far from not proven.
Malvern Hills would not be a “junior partner” in the process, as the article suggested. It is included in it, rather, merely as makeweight so as to render a contract attractive to the private sector.
No budget for its costs was ever agreed and the council is showing no urgency in disclosing what they were. The council’s executive committee wasted no time in approving completely uncosted expenditure on pursuing the matter further.
It refused, absolutely, to consider a review of our refuse operation that could, there is no doubt, save almost £200,000 immediately. Such is the power of the closed mind.
One council official is determined to inflict fortnightly waste collection on this district.
Worcester City Council approved this half-baked proposal on the same evening.
At least its papers were truthful. They make it clear that the process is to be a pantomime sham of “consultation”, the decision having already been made, and that all that is left to be settled is the identity of the lucky, slavering winner who will feast on taxpayers’ money for a decade or more come December 2016.
ANTHONY WARBURTON
Malvern Hills district councillor

Beware as Japan’s military re-emerges
SIR – As we celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the defeat of Japan in 1945, although it is not politically correct to say so, we should be grateful that the Americans dropped the two atom bombs which shortened the war and saved the lives of millions of allied troops who would otherwise have had to invade the Japanese mainland.
The world today needs to guard against the re-emerging threat which Japan poses to world peace. The Japanese still refuse to properly apologise for their dreadful war crimes; their Prime Ministers worship at the Yasukuni shrine where hanged war criminals are buried; school history textbooks have been re-written falsifying history and denying Japanese war atrocities such as the rape of Nanking where over 200,000 Chinese civilians were slaughtered; they now want to celebrate their murderous kamikaze pilots; and they have made April 29 a national holiday in honour of Hirohito, their wartime emperor and war criminal - it’s like Germany officially celebrating Hitler’s birthday.
But, most importantly, supported by a powerful political organization – Nippon Kaigi – the Japanese government is working to change their postwar constitution to remilitarise the country. Already, we see Japanese aggression in the South Pacific provoking China by trying to take over rocks which are disputed territory with China and which China will rightly defend.
So, as it’s a time for remembrance, let us remember the millions of victims of the evil committed by Japan rather than bothering about pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which, in any case, were the direct consequences of Japan having started the Far East war in the first place. Let us remember Japan’s treatment of their POWs; the chemical/medical experiments they carried out on civilians; and the shameful abuse of “comfort women” which even today they deny.
While Japan continues to falsify history, to show no remorse for past barbarities, and are now rearming, we must never forgive or forget.
ALAN AMOS
City and County Councillor for Warndon & Gorse Hill

Germans dominate at EU Commission
SIR – I recently came across some most interesting data about the the composition of the EU Commission. The German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung notes that German staff account for 10.2 per cent of European Commission positions holding more positions than any other EU country. In addition nine of the 28 EU Commissioners including the President have cabinets headed by Germans.
However we are all quite certain that the UK is no one’s poodle whether transatlantic or continental.
Prost...
WENDY HANDS
Upton-upon-Severn


Inventive way to catch speeding motorists
SIR – Speed cameras have become an everyday sight to us, especially in Defford Road, Pershore, this week, however we are less likely to see the operator dashing ahead of your car clasping a pair of hedge cutters, we were curious what he was doing so turned around.
The operator was snipping the hedge opposite his van to get a better view of the oncoming cars! Inventive but slightly sneaky.
JOY DOBBINS
Pershore

Commissioner poll was a waste of money
SIR – Now I know why I and tens of thousands of Worcester folk didn’t vote for Bill Longmore. What a complete and utter waste of money!
CHRIS PATE
Worcester