Happy birthday to us
Many congratulations on your centenary issue: one to keep and come back to (5 July). You had to be selective but, still, it’s a pity that we don’t get a glimpse, in your rear-view mirror, of the Spanish civil war.
Not just for the event itself, but for the fact that it was here that the then Manchester Guardian distinguished itself for its journalism, for taking the trouble to print the truth rather than just the slogans on both sides.
How sad is it that all the truth-telling in the world doesn’t seem to be able to stop human destructiveness in its tracks. Indeed, as we know, negative energies have always ensured that truth is the first casualty.
Damian Grant
Villeneuve d’Ascq, France
• The 100 years of the Guardian Weekly commemorative supplement provided a splendid panorama of events since the very first Weekly of 4 July 1919.
The French historian Fernand Braudel said events are like fireflies briefly lighting up history’s stage, some disappear into oblivion, some light up a dark corner, some reveal a wider vista of history.
What they do not do is highlight the smouldering fires of change driving movements in global economic, social and cultural tectonic plates over time, over these past 100 years.
It has been said that journalism is the first, rough draft of history; it is perhaps better to think of it as making a moment in time available for ever and that is priceless as we seek to clarify the past, understand the present and use imagination and hope, along with organising and campaigning, to create a better next 100 years.
Stewart Sweeney
Adelaide, South Australia
• Congratulations on the very engaging 100th anniversary edition. I was perplexed, however, that Venezuela was positioned both in South America and north of Belgium, in what ought to be the Netherlands on your Global Report map (5 July).
John G Soos
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Private schools are at the root of Britain’s woes
Gary Younge points out the problem at the root of our political system: the class divide, deeply reinforced by so-called public schools (12 July). I would support the political party brave enough to abolish this system. Of course, this requires a complete shift of attitude. It won’t come from the elite clique who assume they deserve power: it must come from ordinary human beings.
Pat Bryden
Edinburgh, UK
Decrease in plastic was even more impressive
The article on the banning of some plastics on the Pacific island of Vanuatu (5 July) says that the proportion of plastic in household rubbish went down from 18% to 12%, a reduction of 6%. This is another example of the difficulty in describing changes in a percentage quantity. The actual decrease in the amount of plastic is 38% because the final amount is 12% of a smaller total. This gives a more realistic description of the effect of the ban.
Graham Davey
Bristol, UK
Trump can’t be expected to watch what he says
Trump said: “Kim Jong-un was putting somebody in charge of the North Korean team who we know and who we like” (Border buddies, 5 July). This must be the world’s worst-ever job, seeing as North Korea executed five foreign ministry officials after the collapse of the Hanoi summit.
If Trump does “know and like” this team, at the next summit he should be careful of what he says and how he behaves, which unfortunately for some, is highly improbable.
Rhys Winterburn
Perth, Western Australia
Nuclear power is not a clean source of energy
In your 28 June issue, your Global Report piece on the UK referred to “clean electricity generated by ... nuclear power reactors”. I find that label disappointing, especially in a reputable newspaper that should go to a deeper level in its analysis.
Stephan Elser
The Hague, Netherlands
Thank you for bringing back Barden on Chess
The loss of visual puzzles appeared to be collateral damage arising from the new format. Congratulations on returning the chess column! Please some bring back some geometric puzzles.
Bruce Auld
Borenore, NSW, Australia
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