> Letters to the Editor
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In your last issue, you highlight the various dimensions of the Greek drama. Whilst helpful, I still cannot quite understand how a country cannot simply be allowed to fail. Greece has a long tradition of shoddy bookkeeping and profligate spending. Living large seems etched into the nation’s very DNA. It is unreasonable to expect the Greeks to change their ways and become as thrifty as, say, Germans or Finns. Should it not be easier – on both us and them – to simply have the country revert back to its drachma which they may then devalue merrily? It worked in the past, why shouldn’t it work now? GEORGE SIMONIDES (Thessaloniki, Greece) Your article on electrotango offered a welcome reprieve from the news normally generated by Argentina. Sadly, that country’s vibrant cultural scene tends to be ignored as the shenanigans of our politicians claim centre stage. Argentina is so much more than just a collection of headline-grabbing leaders. In fact, the nation may be said to subsist not because of them, but rather despite them. In any case, electrotango reaffirms Argentine society as a great producer of innovation in the arts. Thank you for showing that. EURIPIDES ACOSTA (Salta, Argentina) I was struck by the wholly unexpected vitality of life in Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland. That country, in fact, seldom gets the credit it is due. Unrecognised by the international community, Somaliland offers a gleam of hope in the otherwise rather unhappy Horn of Africa. While by no means perfect, Somaliland is reasonably well-governed and has amply proved to constitute an entity quite separate from Somalia, to which it once belonged. I hope the international community, which has a tendency to forget places that do not produce news, yet takes note of Somaliland and rewards its people with the recognition they deserve. UMAR FARAH (Hargeisa, Somaliland) The quest for low-carbon energy solution is, perhaps, is a quixotic one. Instead of subsidising the quest for a holy grail, maybe we could allow the market to work its wonder and do its magic. Whilst I admit that the above may be akin to blasphemy to some, I suspect that disbursing untold billions to finance alternative energy misses the point. Some investments in research and development may be called for, but throwing vast amounts of money at the problem is unlikely to produce the desired results. More likely, a hybrid monstrosity will emerge that ill serves its purpose and costs a fortune. ANDREA KUNTZ (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
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Switzerland: Davos