You ask if Donald Trump is “friend or foe?” (News). The answer is that if it is understood how Trump perceives himself, the US and others in the world, then there is a consistency about his utterances and policies.
He sees himself as global deal-maker and, in effect, a replacement for the United Nations. The statements he has made, and continues to make, about Gaza, Greenland, Panama and Canada should be taken literally. In Trump’s reckoning of the order of the world there are not so much as sovereign states, nations with economies and citizens, but properties with tenants that can be purchased – or, in the case of Gaza, tenants who can be “asked” to leave. In the case of Ukraine, he deals with the significant other potential property dealer, Russia, and that explains his treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Dr George Hudson
Worcester
As an American, I feel that it may be too late for us. Either out of ignorance or anger, half of us voted this man into power. All Americans now have to live with the terrifying consequences of living under the thumb of a capricious, revengeful individual and those who bow down to him or use him for their own purposes.
But Europeans do not have to appease Trump. Appeasement did not work with Hitler. It will not work now. Europe once was able to rely on the United States. Today, the world, including Americans, will have to rely on Europe to keep alive the ideals of the declaration of independence, the constitution, the Gettysburg address and Martin Luther King’s speech. I hope the British government will rescind the invitation of the king.
Miriam Bartes
Miami, Florida
Andrew Rawnsley rightly deplores the slashing of the international aid budget (“In this dangerous age, Britain needs to exert soft power as well as the hard stuff”, Comment).
But please don’t pit the needs of people in poverty overseas against those of people in poverty in this country by suggesting that we could be less generous towards social security spending.
Social security has suffered massive cuts over the past decade and this has been a prime factor in the increase in and deepening of poverty. Rawnsley rightly concludes that we are an affluent country that can afford to wield both hard and soft power. We can also afford to provide a decent social security system. If the French government can be considering taxing the wealthy more in the face of current security demands, why can’t we?
Baroness Lister of Burtersett
House of Lords
Assisted dying safeguards
We write in support of Kim Leadbeater’s proposal for a judge-led assisted dying commission to appoint a panel of multidisciplinary specialists to examine and approve each individual request for assistance to die.
We believe this makes the bill the safest and strongest of its kind in the world, and a marked improvement on the status quo in this country, which fails to offer meaningful upfront protections.
When MPs voted to support the principle of assisted dying last year, questions were raised around the role of the High Court in assessing cases and the practicability of the proposal. Having considered those arguments,
Leadbeater has alighted on the most critical question: how to apply the right sets of eyes to cases to ensure objective external scrutiny and guard against any misuse. The proposal of multidisciplinary panels, each chaired by a judge or KC, assisted by the expertise of psychiatrists and social workers, is sensible and practical. Indeed, similar panels have been proven to work well already in Spain. The focus on retired judges, frequently deployed on to public inquiries or as highly skilled mediators, should settle any concerns about potential impact on the courts system.
It is welcome that with parliament having conclusively backed the principle of assisted dying, Leadbeater and others are strengthening the legislation further. The proposal of an assisted dying commission represents an important step on that journey, bringing end-of-life decisions out of the shadows and greatly increasing the support and protection available for terminally ill people who want this choice.
With this bill, MPs have an opportunity to bring about a sea-change in protections for dying people, and replace the meagre provisions of our current law with a stronger, safer settlement. They should grasp it.
Sir Max Hill, former Director of Public Prosecutions; Dame Alison Saunders, former Director of Public Prosecutions; Lord Ken Macdonald, former Director of Public Prosecutions; Lord Charles Falconer, Former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice; Lord David Pannick, Blackstone Chambers; Professor Emily Jackson, Professor of Law, London School of Economics; Professor Colin Gavaghan, Professor at the School of Law, University of Bristol; Professor Philippe Sands, Faculty of Laws, UCL and 11 King’s Bench Walk; Professor Hazel Biggs, Professor Emeritus, University of Southampton; Dr Nick Cartwright, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Leeds; Tim Owen, Matrix Chambers; Stephen Cragg, Doughty Street Chambers; Michael Mansfield, Nexus Chambers; Joe Middleton, Doughty Street Chambers; David Wolfe, Matrix Chambers; Rebecca Hill, 5SAH Chambers; Maria Scotland, 5SAH Chambers; Louisa Collins, 5SAH Chambers; Saoirse Townshend, Temple Garden Chambers; Chris Bishop, Senior Partner, Slater Heelis; Rachel Fletcher, Partner, Slater Heelis; Richard Stein, Retired, Former Partner, Leigh Day; Yogi Amin, Solicitor; Martin Rackstraw, Solicitor and Oliver Studdert, Solicitor; Professor Laura Hoyano, Professor of Law, University of Oxford and Red Lion Chambers; Tony Vaughan, Doughty Street Chambers and MP for Folkestone and Hythe; Andrea Coomber KC (Hon)
Long Covid’s curse
Thank you for your long Covid story (“‘We’re losing decades of our life to this illness’: long Covid patients on the fear of being forgotten”, New Review). I have had chronic fatigue for five years and friends who want to chat have to check with me first; often the answer is, “I can’t”, because I need my energy.
We were told at the start of the pandemic to learn to live with Covid but once there were vaccines we pretended the threat was gone. It isn’t. I’m in one place while the world moves past me. I’m a non-participant. If others took precautions, then people like me could safely venture a bit further. Our safety-net is imaginary.
Delora Jones
Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire
Not so beautiful
I cannot be the only reader of last week’s Sport section to be struck by the irony of your front-page image of the head-kick suffered by Jean-Phillipe Mateta and the page six headline, above a sympathetic interview with Sander Berge, “I can be more brutal, more nasty and more aggressive – you need that”. Whatever happened to the beautiful game?
Sheree Dodd
Bromley, Kent
Rhythm and no blues
Amen to Miriam Avery’s letter saying, “It is possible, with the right education and tools, to avoid pregnancy without hormonal birth control”. Scientific knowledge and clear teaching has moved natural methods on by many decades from that approach which did require luck, and for nearly 50 years natural family planning has been available, albeit small scale.
Sadly, many of the apps are not trustworthy or educational, but some are and along with initially being taught by a human being, fertility opens up to women, giving us options to choose, while not affecting our bodies.
Ginny Eaton
Brockham, Surrey
Unwelcome US visitor (8)
In an age when children are increasingly using American words such as diapers, garbage or cellphones, it was disappointing to see the word airplane as part of a clue in the Speedy crossword. Please do your best to keep our beautiful language English.
Tony Erskine
Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear
