Why is it that, apart from the UK, France and Russia, all the other European countries without nuclear weapons are not considered to be putting their states at risk (CND membership surge gathering pace, 16 October)? Alternatively, like Germany and Italy, why can’t the UK become a “nation hosting nuclear weapons”, thus negating the need to update Trident too?
Peter Stewart
London
• Gloria Steinem claims (G2, 20 October) that in the 2008 Democratic party primary elections “the only obvious difference” between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama “was experience”. The obvious difference that led me and millions of other American feminists to choose Obama was Clinton’s support of the invasion of Iraq “with conviction” as she said in her Senate speech of October 2002.
Mandy Merck
London
• Ian MacDonald of Leicester (Letters, 20 October) has misquoted the old saying about Edinburgh folk when he writes: “Local legend back in my native Glasgow insists that the customary greeting on visiting an Edinburgh home is ‘Of course you will have had your tea hours ago!’” The original saying was, “Ye’ll have had your tea but ye’ll have something stronger?” An example of Glasgow humour, perhaps?
Veronica Gordon Smith
Edinburgh
• Can I assure Ron Brewer that readers are still writing short, pithy, clever and humorous letters (Letters, 20 October). They just don’t get published.
Pete Bibby
Sheffield
• I send lots of “short, clever, pithy and humorous” letters to the Guardian. Bizarrely, the letters editors sometimes publish those concerning events of international significance instead.
Michael Cunningham
Wolverhampton
• A short, pithy letter for you to consider: when a ring of steel is thrown up around Manchester city centre for the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping, it will presumably have to be made from cheap Chinese imports.
Stephen Davies
Sandbach, Cheshire
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
