Wall lifeline

Well there you go then. Donald Trump has a huge lifeline.

If the multi-billionaire el Chapo coughs up to build his much-touted border wall, then a presidential pardon will be forthcoming: Not only does Trump get his wall, but Mexico has paid for it.

This is surely too good an opportunity for an intellectual of Trump’s stature to pass up. Ross Elliot, Motueka that threatens world peace.

A lot of the blame may rest on a superpower with an agenda that benefits from undermining democracy.

If that superpower happens to boast of being the preeminent democracy, the bastion of liberty, then its founding fathers must be spinning in their graves.

A new word is needed: hypocracy... the rule of hypocrisy dressed up as democracy.

But whether the fault lies in interference by powerful countries, or lack of coherent effort by the United Nations, it is up to the few countries, like New Zealand, with good reputations and willingness to stick to ideals, to pull the world back from the brink by doing what the UN should have done all along, such as independently validating elections in unstable democracies, and boycotting instigators of instability.

Mark Aitchison, Sydenham

I chose to patronise Beat Kitchen. My meal was hot, appetising, thoroughly delicious and had a very short wait time.

The Szechuan chicken was nestled on a bed of noodles and just the right size to enjoy.

I followed this with sticky black rice and coconut dessert.

This was a new food experience for me which I found delightful.

The rice was topped with toasted coconut and lychees and served with coconut cream. Helen McKessar, Halswell