Freedom from gadgets is the point of exercise
I was both puzzled and bewildered by your article Has Strava ruined exercise? by Rose George (24 January). I have never heard of Strava or most of the tech gadgetry described, but I am wondering who are all these odd people who are obsessed by all this?
Between the ages of 17 and 72 I have competed at regional, national and world levels in cycle racing, running, triathlons, XC ski-racing and sailing. In all of these the only item I carried with me was a wristwatch.
When not competing, I have run along mountain ridges in remote places without recording anything or checking anyone else’s similar passages. This is the whole point: to be totally freed from anything like this!
I once ran along a mountain ridge in Brazil, to Ouro Preto (40km), stayed overnight and ran back again the next day. No one knows I did this. It wasn’t recorded or noted by anyone, but I wont forget it. It was a wonderful experience. I only had my watch and a fanny pack with me.
Michael L Barton
Gamle Fredrikstad, Norway
Leadership failure is having a long run
The coverage of the long shadow of Putin in Russia got me wondering whether there has ever before been such a long period of global failure of leadership (24 January). A perusal of the leaders of the planet’s countries and largest corporations is not encouraging. Democracy is under threat from the majority of the political elite. The world’s ecological systems are threatened by the majority of corporate leaders.
There are some green shoots of hope in countries such as Finland and cities such as Ghent, but they are not yet deep-rooted. Regarding corporations, in too many cases, greenwash still predominates as global warming intensifies.
The gap between the leadership we need and the leadership we have got is big and getting bigger.
Stewart Sweeney
Adelaide, South Australia
Calling Trump a huckster is really being kind to him
Michigan resident James Padot calls Donald Trump a “huckster” but will vote for him again “because the economy seems to be doing good” (24 January). This former Democrat voter shows why Trump will be re-elected: presumed self-interest. Voters see him as the answer and not the problem, reflecting the weakness of the Democrats’ leadership. Huckster is the most kind word I’ve heard Trump called, although it is denigrating to salesmen.
Rhys Winterburn
Perth, Western Australia
US politics being failed by electoral college
Simon Tisdall (31 January) has explained the state of American politics in one revealing paragraph: “It’s entirely possible the electoral college, another 18th-century remnant, will deliver the presidency to Trump in November, contradicting the popular vote and, for many, rendering the election meaningless”. Until this outdated remnant is disbanded, US democracy will continue to discredit itself. God bless America!
Carmelo Bazzano
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Where there is wealth, there is always theft
Congratulations to the Guardian and the whole International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for revealing the details of Isabel dos Santos’s enrichment at the expense of the rest of Angola’s population (24 January). That is another illustration of a general principle in economics, as theorised by Karl Marx. It is called primitive accumulation of capital: at the origins of any great wealth, there is always some kind of theft.
Marc Jachym
Les Ulis, France
Gary Younge was a great writer who will be missed
I just want to say how sad I am that Gary Younge is leaving as one of your columnists. I always appreciated his articles and have learnt a lot. I wish him the best of luck in his new post as professor of sociology at Manchester University – his students will be lucky to have him.
Sheila Dunnachie
Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada
The benefits of sitting and thinking, or just sitting
Mark O’Connell’s The secret level (31 January) is reminiscent of the immortal 1906 Punch cartoon of the vicar’s wife visiting the aged man and asking how he passes the time, to which he replies: “Well, mum, sometimes I sits and thinks, and then again I just sits”.
Jack Palmer
Watson, ACT, Australia
