8 AUGUST 1981, page 16

Raid And Reprisal

Sir: Excessive retaliation is a legitimate target for criticism as is, indeed, any form of extreme immoderation. I would not bother to quarrel with Nicholas von Hoffman for......

Simple People

Sir: Taki is perhaps a little harsh on the newspaper reporter whom he accuses (25 July) of oversimplifying his comparison between the ancient Romans and the modern Russians.......

Theft And Bribery

Sir: The announced rate increase for GLC ratepayers demonstrates the underlying irrationality of Western political systems. The fact is that the political set-up has......

Painterly Images

Sir: As one who has never comprehended Picasso's non-representative work, I would like to thank Mr John McEwen for the clarity and intuition of his article (25 July). I did,......

Wrong Scoutmaster

Sir: Having sat through that awful commen tary on the Royal Fireworks with mY teenage daughter picking up and enlarging on every fatuity when she wasn't in hysterics at the......