Battle of the technices - Steve Jobs & Bill Gates

By JOEY YAP and TEE LIN SAY
starmag@thestar.com.my

PC vs Mac?

Both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are highly intelligent and good at accumulating wealth - but one of them will enjoy that wealth along with good health while the other will struggle with ailment.

In the last part of our series on face reading, we examine two titans who have been battling it out in the technology arena for decades.

 MICROSOFT founder Bill Gates and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs are both American magnates who command the respect of the world with the paradigm-shifting inventions their companies have developed.
Gates is almost single-handedly responsible for the revolution in personal computing, which began with the launch of the retail version of the Microsoft Windows computer operating system on Nov 20, 1985. Since 1995, he has consistently remained in the upper regions of any “richest American men” list you can think of.
This year, Gates, 55, is the second richest man listed on Forbes’ magazine’s annual list with US$53bil (RM173.84bil).

Meanwhile, Job’s US$5bil (RM16.4bil) net wealth may be nowhere close to Gates’ gold mine, but he is the ultimate icon of the idiosyncratic and individualistic Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

Battle of the techies: Both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates (below) are highly intelligent and good at accumalating wealth – but one of them will enjoy that wealth along with good health while the other will struggle with ailments.

 

He is presently invading the world with the launch of the iPhone 4 last week, on June 24; it was the best product launch in the history of Apple Inc, according to news reports earlier this week.

Recently, Jobs predicted that personal computers running on Microsoft Windows operating systems are in permanent decline.

Does this mean it’s the end of Gates empire?

Gates’ window on the world

Based on face reading, the answer is no.
Gates’ current age point is denoted in the mouth area – and he has a big and wide mouth with good flags.

Remember what we said previously? “Bigger mouth, bigger say”. Well, Gates’ huge mouth definitely means an abundance of influence, power and respect. As a non-executive chairman, he may no longer play an active role in Microsoft now, but his reputation and clout is far from diminishing.

Bill Gates

 

With that sort of mouth, people tend to listen to and obey him – a good thing too, because he wants things his way!

Notice too, that Gates has bell shaped laughter lines (wide and deep but shaped like a bell) – these are the best type to have because they indicate a person who commands huge respect and has huge authority. The other lines on the sides of the face that go all the way up – guan jong wen – reinforces this, as they mean mass public support.

Gates also has a classic lion’s nose, which is an entrepreneur’s nose. The nose itself is quite large, but not disproportionate to the rest of the face.

The nose wings are wide, denoting the ability to generate wealth from a variety of sources. The tip of the nose is particularly bulbous and, most importantly, dips down, indicating excellent business acumen and a sharp financial mind.

Gates nose is also well-supported by his cheeks. This denotes that he has a very good right-hand man and close aides to help him achieve his goals and support his wealth generation efforts. That is why, even with Gates taking a lesser role, you don’t see the company crumbling, or shareholders turning jittery.

His wealth is also a result of his wisdom – he has a high forehead. Gates is a thinker, one who is always analysing and strategising.

His chin is prominent and bulges out. This is an extremely important feature for people in today’s cutthroat business world. A chin like this means wealth and career positions that are established and rock steady.

In business, this means that Gates is firm in his decisions and cannot be swayed without a very good reason.

As his eyebrows do not extend across the length of his eye, they could be be regarded as short. This denotes someone who is unsentimental and merciless and who prefers to count on himself rather than depend on others. Short eyebrows belong to people who prefer to be unencumbered by partners.

His eyebrows are also straight and do not arch at all. This means someone who has a consistent personality and is focused and determined. The straightness also indicates that Gates believes in measured responses and that he likes to observe a situation before jumping in or taking action.


That is why Microsoft is not as aggressive or as “boat-rocking” as Apple in terms of its product line-ups.

While Microsoft has sometimes been slow to enter a particular area of technology, once Gates does decide to enter the fray, he will have thought out all the angles and have a clear vision of emerging victorious.

For example, Microsoft allowed the Netscape Navigator to establish itself as a browser before deciding to get into a “browser war” with its own Internet Explorer – and we all know how that ended, don’t we?

To sum it up, Gates six “mansions of wealth” position is very prominent and meaty, which means great wealth. The wealth mansion points are two points each on the forehead, the cheeks and the lower chin area.

He also has a square face, or field face character, that is very symmetrical and proportionate. This shows that Gates is of the earth element. Typically, most wealthy people have earth-shaped faces.

Gates eyes are also very strong. He has glossy and spirited eyes, which are known as “noble dragon” eyes. Couple these eyes with his lion nose, and you have a person with full power, authority and wealth.

Furthermore, his chin is squarish and long, which represents a very wealthy and prosperous old age.

Applemania is Jobs

If there’s anyone who can create a new culture, its Jobs, the co-founder (with Steve Wozniak) of Apple Inc and the man who made Pixar Studios into an Academy-award winner.

Wealth-wise, it is clear to see: Jobs has a very good nose, with wide nostrils and a downward-dipping nose bulb, indicating someone who is very savvy financially and in wealth generation.

If we compare the amount of creativity reflected in Gates and Jobs’ faces, Jobs would appear to have the superior face.

His most prominent feature is his high and broad forehead. This indicates someone who is very intelligent. Analysing and solving puzzles is second nature to him. His forehead’s width also indicates that Jobs has had plenty of opportunities throughout his career – he has helpful people and “guiding angels” to push him to excel in his field.

His forehead also indicates he has a lot of creativity, as can be seen by how he turned Apple around with ground-breaking advertising campaigns and marketing techniques. Together with his small and long eyes, these are hallmarks of a very successful entrepreneur.

Job’s thick eyebrows go upwards like a warrior, a feature usually found on heroic personalities. They are courageous, principled and intelligent and are the sort who will fight for the rights of the oppressed.

Those eyebrows also indicate that Jobs has a very positive outlook on life, hence enabling him to fight cancer (he was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004) – and produce the best smart phone in the world, the iPhone, of course!

His protruding eyebrow bones mean he is more aggressive and will take on a more active role. He dares to stand out in the crowd and be different.

While Jobs may be better as a creative entrepreneur, Gates would be better as the leader. This is because Jobs’ sharp and long eyes indicate that he has an eye for detail. Couple this with the protruding eyebrows, and it is evident that he likes to be in control of everything.

Jobs eyes are also sharp yet sunken. Couple this with his thicker eyebrows, and it means that he knows how to find the right partner to help him. His eyebrows represent sibling and partnership palaces. He has the ability to find the right people at the right time.

Jobs also has the high-set ears that are a feature of people with high IQs.
His bulging fortune and virtue palace (the area above the eyebrows) indicates someone who is hard on himself and who is not contented because he is in constant pursuit of perfection.

That is why it is not surprising that Jobs is today listed as either primary inventor or co-inventor in over 230 awarded patents and patent applications.

Jobs, like Gates, is also 55 this year, so, similarly, his “age luck” is also in his mouth. Jobs’ mouth is wide, indicating influence and power.

However, he has been growing a scruffy sort of moustache of late that covers the fleshy part of the area above his lips – this may not be helpful.

In Mian Xiang (face reading) terms, a good face is one that is fleshy and has good qi. When a person has a fleshy face, he should not hide it under any facial hair.

Jobs has an oblong face, which is known as the “metal face” in Chinese metaphysics. Hair, on the other hand, is considered a wood element. When one has facial hair on a metal face, it is akin to “metal chopping wood”, which then creates sparks – and, hence, obstacles.

Notice, too, that Jobs has a narrower and shorter chin than Gates. This denotes a person who is more creative, but may suffer from health issues in his old age.

Jobs face is also gaunt. In face reading, hollowness and gaunt faces are never good features.
He is especially gaunt around the jaw and lower cheeks, meaning Jobs’ face does not fulfil the criteria for true wealth: when a person’s face is fleshy in all six of the mansions of wealth.

Who is doing better?

So, will Jobs survive his battle with his ongoing ill-health? He’s certainly got the determination and drive to do so. Furthermore, his eye spirit is strong, indicating that he is going through his good fortune cycle. However, the facial hair will continue to mean trials and tribulations.

Furthermore, Job’s fa-ling (laugh lines) do not cross the mouth even when he smiles. That means he will have continuing health problems before he turns 60.

To have a good life after 60, one needs deep and long fa-ling, good ear lobes and full eyebrows. Jobs ear lobes are not fleshy and while his eyebrows are strong, notice that they are sparse towards the end.

Hence, healthwise, Jobs may continue to face challenges.

Obviously, as Jobs has been single-handedly responsible for much of Apple’s success, his stepping down or demise will not be good for Apple Inc.

The fact that Apple may face challenges can be seen in Jobs’ sunken eyes (which indicate unhappiness) and bearded chin.

On the other hand, Windows will continue to flourish even without Gates. Gates has been improving with age. Gates face is meatier than Jobs’, which again shows that Gates has better fortune. To have true good fortune, one cannot be too thin.

Of course, good fortune is not just about money, it is also about health and love. So, as a whole, while Jobs may be the more creative entrepreneur and creates waves among techies worldwide, the person blessed with true good fortune – money, health and love – is Gates.

For more on face reading, drop by FemmeCity (organised by Clove) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from July 30 to Aug 1. Admission to the fair is free.

Feng shui expert Joey Yap is the founder and principal of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics. StarBiz writer Tee Lin Say is Yap’s student of face reading.

Yuan flexibility not enough for China

What Are We To Do
By TAN SRI LIN SEE-YAN

Much to be anticipated on a gradual currency rise

MY earlier column, Realities About China’s BOP Surpluses (StarBizWeek, April 10, 2010), concluded: “exclusive focus on China’s exchange rate policy is, I think, counter-productive. It will unlikely resolve the US’s persistent imbalance. However, as I see it, there is growing awareness in Beijing that greater exchange rate flexibility and a gradual yuan appreciation has to be an element of any credible package of policy measures for China to liberalise factor markets and remove cost distortions. This could transit over time to a full market economy. Any exchange rate adjustment has to be viewed in this context.”

Sure enough, the Peoples’ Bank of China (PBoC) announced on June 19 that it would allow greater flexibility for the yuan, thereby reverting to the flexibility it had enjoyed before the yuan was effectively re-pegged at around 6.83 per US dollar in mid-2008 to provide stability during the global crisis.

In the three years following an initial 2.1% revaluation of the yuan on July 21, 2005, the currency gained a further 19%. But in those first remaining months of 2005, the appreciation was only 8.6%.

Credibility requires serious action

China’s decision to allow flexibility back into the value of the yuan was greeted with “grudging optimism”.
Few think, and rightly so, the move will have a dramatic impact on rebalancing the global economy. Partly because of its limited size.

The yuan offshore forward market on the first trading day predicted an appreciation of just 2.3% by year-end; and 3% in 12 months. Based on an undervalued yuan estimated at between 25%-40%, this will take more than a decade to eliminate.

Partly because most regard any yuan adjustment as a helpful but not critical part of shifting consumer demand from the US to Asia.

Previous experience in 2005-2008 was accompanied by a soaring Chinese current surplus instead.
This was also the Japanese experience after the 1985 Plaza Accord, when Japan agreed to a major yen appreciation.

Stanford Prof R. McKinnon found little long-term change in Japan’s trade surplus with the US as a result. The lesson China has taken on board is that rapid swings in the exchange rate can be most damaging.
The PBoC has yet to release details of the new regime. But has hinted that

(i) its focus is to guide the yuan against a basket of currencies, in order to foster a genuine two-way movement between the yuan and the US dollar;

(ii) the “basis did not exist for a large-scale appreciation,” i.e. big exchange rate fluctuations “are not in China’s interest” and any movement in the yuan will be gradual;

(iii) flexibility to be in both directions, i.e. instil inter-play of two-way risks; and

(iv) make more use of existing trading-band from the yuan’s central parity rate.

In practice, the regime closely resembles a managed crawl. It is akin to the policy that let the yuan appreciate by some 21% against the US dollar until the financial panic hit in 2008.

Be that as it may, the expectation of a stronger yuan can only attract inflows of “hot money” betting on further yuan appreciation.

That is why the PBoC insisted that “it is not appropriate given China’s diversification of trade and investment that the yuan is fixed solely to one currency, as it won’t accurately reflect the real value of the yuan.”

Trading under the new regime

To forestall undue expectations, the PBoC’s weekend statement made clear that a big one-time revaluation was not on the cards.

Indeed, the band under which the yuan trades daily will not be widened beyond 0.5%.

In the short run, it’s wait-and-see how far and how fast the PBoC will allow the currency to appreciate.
On its first day of trading, the yuan rose to a new high against the US dollar, closing at 6.7976, up 0.42% from Friday’s (June 18) close of 6.8262.

It was the yuan’s strongest level since the currency was regularly traded.

The previous high was in July 2008, just before it was pegged to the US dollar at around 6.84 and kept there for the next two years to help stabilise its economy amid global recession.

To be sure, the yuan had since appreciated 3.8% so far this year on a trade weighted basis, thanks to a shrinking euro.

On its second day of trading, the yuan weakened, reflecting the PBoC’s message that the new regime doesn’t guarantee a one-way bet on its currency. It ended at 6.8136, down about 0.23% from Monday’s close.

Indeed, the markets got the message – two days of trading reinforced the PBoC’s goals to allow market trading to drive the exchange rate; and to move it up and down, mainly to deter speculation.

At this early stage, the PBoC is concerned – and rightly so – that the perception of yuan appreciation as a sure thing will trigger massive capital inflows (hot money) to the detriment of Beijing’s ability to maintain stability.

The PBoC’s most effective means of control has been setting daily the rate for the yuan (i.e. CPR or central parity rate) to start-off trading.

Given the yuan can only move 0.5% + CPR, overall yuan movement is not set by intra-day trades but by how the CPR moves from one day to the next.

This way, the PBoC seldom needs to intervene directly in the market.

On the second day of trading, the CPR was set at 6.7980 (almost where it closed on Monday), i.e. 0.42% stronger than Friday’s close. This fuelled expectation the PBoC won’t try to reverse Monday’s gains.

But early into trading, the yuan reversed and abruptly weakened, with heavy US dollar buying by banks at around 6.8000.

After a week of trading, the yuan closed stronger at 6.7922, up 0.5% from its close a week earlier.
By Wednesday (June 30), it closed up 0.65% at 6.7817. To be fair, when the PBoC said there would be no dramatic movements, it wasn’t kidding. But expectations are high.

President Obama anticipates the yuan is “…going to go up significantly.”

This expectation is being tempered by the IMF: “It will take time for the yuan to reach its normal market volume.”

Next developments will depend on the patience of the US if the evolving yuan revaluation proves all too gradual.

“Hot money”

The new regime has boosted Asian currency values. The South Korean won, Australia dollar, Thai baht and the ringgit felt the biggest impact.

Traders centred on these currencies, which they regard as proxies for China’s growth and its appetite for imports with a stronger yuan.

That in turn makes central banks in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea feel more comfortable about letting their currencies strengthen.

It helps fight inflation because imported goods get cheaper, and reduces need to raise interest rates.
All over Asia, there is now greater tolerance for currency appreciation.

While attracting foreign capital is usually good, short-term inflows can cause bubbles in stocks and property. And, when they pull out at the first hint of trouble, panic usually takes over.

South Korea and Indonesia imposed new measures recently aimed at moderating their impact. China’s history of sharp and disruptive capital inflows during 2005-2008 offers an object lesson.

The yuan’s gradual strengthening (up 21% against US dollar from 2005-2008) coincided with huge gains in Asian stocks (Hang Seng China Enterprises Index traded in HK rose 319%). Hence, China’s concern over speculative risks complicating efforts to control money supply.

To deal with this, the PBoC promotes the idea the yuan-US dollar exchange rate is unpredictable, and can swing in both directions. Its management of the yuan in its first 10 days demonstrated this.
This should help mitigate hot money inflows.

NDFs

China’s SAFE (State Administration of Foreign Exchange) which manages its US$2.5 trillion in foreign reserves, is concerned that hot-money investors are exploiting pricing differentials between domestic forward markets and offshore NDFs (non-deliverable forwards) market.

But unlike South Korea, which recently imposed restrictions to reduce won volatility, SAFE opted to continue to monitor instead.

NDFs are derivative contracts traded among foreign investors that pay-out based on expectations on the value of the yuan against US dollar in the future.

Following the flexibility, 12-month NDFs moved sharply on Monday to a 3% rise of the yuan in the next year (compared with 1.8% on the prior Friday); 6-month forwards are up 1.3%.

Economists offer four reasons in believing hot money flows will be limited:

(i) a 3% appreciation is too slim to attract investors unable to attract leverage;
(ii) fears the Chinese economy may “cool” and the bubble property market is about to burst;
(iii) expectations on asset prices have since “cooled-down” – Shanghai stock market is already down 30% this year and housing sales are dropping sharply; and
(iv) a possible global double-dip recession.

Internationalisation of the yuan

Concomitantly, the PBoC separately confirmed plans to expand its trial programme to settle trade deals in yuan.

It’s part of a broader effort to modernise and internationalise its currency.

First started in July 2009, it encouraged companies in Shanghai and Guangzhou province to use the yuan instead when trading with Hong Kong, Macau and some foreign countries.

After a slow start, Tuesday’s announcement expanded the programme to 20 of China’s 31 provinces and now, all foreign countries can participate.

To date, the value of such yuan-based deals totalled only US$6.5bil, or less than 1% of China’s total foreign trade.

The obstacle has been reluctance of many companies to hold the yuan because of its limited use outside China.

This has to do with China’s reluctance to make the yuan fully convertible, a policy Beijing intends to hang on to.

Increased yuan flexibility can make it more attractive to hold, provided it leads to appreciation.
This programme offers Chinese exporters a way out of worries on currency risks since their costs are mainly in yuan.

Euro’s recent volatility heightened this concern. Europe is China’s biggest trading partner.

Despite the calmness of yuan trading under the new regime, the currency dispute in China has not gone away.
But so far, reactions have been positive. At home, opposition to even a 3.5% appreciation of the yuan remains strong, especially within China’s export lobby.

The warning shot has come subtly: “Water doesn’t boil if it is heated at 99°C. But it will boil if it is heated by one more degree.”

Internationally, it’s just more wait-and-see. Expect the initial euphoria to dissipate quickly as politics and reality set in.

I am now reminded of former Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai’s response when asked 175 years after the fact, what he made of the French revolution.

He thought for a moment and then answered: “It is too soon to tell.”
I end as I began. The yuan revaluation is not China’s most critical problem today.

China has to embark also on other reforms, including re-designing macroeconomic policies that don’t over-emphasise growth, privatising state-owned enterprises and liberalising financial development, striking a better balance in income distribution, and aggressively promoting services sector development.

Such a comprehensive rebalancing exercise can be made to work, but will necessarily take time. For now, it’s steady as she goes.

·Former banker Dr Lin is a Harvard-educated economist and a British Chartered Scientist who now spends time writing, teaching and promoting the public interest. Feedback is most welcome at 

starbizweek@thestar.com.my

Watch out: yuan may fall as volatility picks up

By Lu Jianxin and Koh Gui Qing


SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Now that China is staying true to its word and letting the yuan trade a bit more freely, analysts and investors outside the mainland may not be prepared for one potential outcome: a yuan drop.

China is showing a determination to let the yuan be more volatile against the dollar within its daily 0.5 percent trading band and go with the market flow, contrary to some expectations for another steady rise as happened between 2005 and 2008.

That means there are no guarantees that the yuan will appreciate against the dollar over time, and Beijing is set to stick firmly to its position on yuan flexibility no matter how much it disappoints critics -- most prominently U.S. lawmakers.

The fundamentals arguing for substantial yuan appreciation have changed since the financial crisis: China is running smaller trade surpluses, and economists see the potential for the shrinking current account surpluses to turn into deficits in coming years.

As a result, the basis for steady but slow yuan appreciation versus the dollar is not as strong as five years ago -- one reason why Beijing keeps emphasising flexibility in its pushing forward the reform of its currency system.

"China's new yuan policy lays emphasis on a quick response to changes in economic and market conditions, with no preset levels for yuan appreciation either in the short term or long term," said Chen Lu, chief economist at Haitong Securities in Shanghai.

The People's Bank of China has matched its words with deeds by allowing greater yuan volatility since the June 19 announcement and subsequent clarification that flexibility still means that yuan moves must be gradual and controllable.

The yuan has moved in an average daily range of more than 100 pips since its depegging, far above the 50 pips that dealers say would allow banks to engage in proprietary trading intraday.

This compared with a daily movement of only a few pips during the two years when the currency was pegged to the dollar.

Banks are just starting to do more day-to-day speculation, adding to liquidity in the local spot market.
Before the depegging, the limited daily swings meant all trading was almost a pure reflection of supply and demand, with the PBOC keeping the market in check.

Realised volatility in dollar/yuan has jumped as spot has started swinging more sharply within the daily trading band on the official CFETS platform.

For a graphic on dollar/yuan and realised vol, click r.reuters.com/vyv45m

WATCH THE STATE-OWNED BANKS

The PBOC is apparently fostering two-way trade within the daily trading band for the spot yuan rate , trying to get banks and companies accustomed to greater volatility and to hedging currency risks.

But during the peak of speculation on yuan gains early last week, the PBOC used state banks to buy dollars in hefty chunks, effectively limiting the market's ability to short dollar/yuan -- especially since banks are not allowed to hold short positions overnight.

"Some big Chinese banks bought dollars in such large amounts that they could not have been acting on demand from clients or doing their own trading. They apparently did that on the PBOC's behalf," said a European bank dealer.

"Instead of being complacent about the latest yuan rise, investors may need to prepare for rainy days when the PBOC actually permits the yuan to depreciate against the dollar."

Dealers said the state banks scooped up dollars at a wide variety of levels, suggesting the authorities were not trying to defend the yuan at a certain level.

These mechanisms are a step back from direct intervention by the PBOC in trading, often employed in the post-revaluation phase of yuan appreciation from 2005 to 2008 and during the de facto dollar peg of the past two years.

Dealers also believe the PBOC may have also adopted a new formula for setting the mid-point, or its reference rate, for the daily trading band.

It appears it sets the mid-point using the yuan's close on the previous day plus overnight moves in the dollar index, making the mid-point market-oriented rather than an expression of the central bank's desires as before.
But traders expect the PBOC to keep the mid-point as a ready weapon for the PBOC for limiting any yuan moves during times of market volatility. The PBOC consults with banks but keeps the market in the dark as to how it sets the rate.

During the peg, the PBOC tweaked the mid-point by only one or two pips each day. Any trades happened far from the reference rate on a given day would have to be covered around the mid-point in subsequent days, discouraging moves far from the mid-point.

Since the depegging, the yuan has risen as much as 0.83 percent as the PBOC tolerated a rise to a post-revaluation high of 6.7700 against the dollar on Friday.

While the new regime has still disappointed critics in the United States, Chinese market players believe that Beijing will not make any further concessions and that new pressure from U.S. lawmakers -- some of whom believe the yuan is undervalued by as much as 40 percent -- would likely backfire.

The euro zone debt woes have cast doubt on the pace of China's recovery, the latest reminder how vulnerable the world's third-largest economy is to a global slowdown.

China's still low per person income also argues against sharp yuan appreciation, economists say, arguing that it is inappropriate to apply Western standards to the currency of a country whose GDP per person was only 8 percent of that of the United States last year.

"What China can do is to show that it's friendly, it's cooperative and it's willing to change in line with economic and market conditions," said a senior Chinese bank dealer in Beijing. "As China will adjust the yuan's value on a floating basis, yuan appreciation forecasts will become more or less a guessing game."

(Editing by Eric Burroughs)
(For more business news on Reuters India click in.reuters.com)

Blows against the American empire

So the US authorities don't like foreign spies in their midst or on their territory (Russian espionage ring, 2 July). Some of us are deeply troubled by the presence of the US spy base at Menwith Hill – in our midst and in beautiful Nidderdale. The base is celebrating 50 years of operations this year. Menwith Hill is the largest American spy base outside the US. It operates with no meaningful accountability or parliamentary and public scrutiny and is out of control of the UK government. They do what they like. It goes on mushrooming and relentlessly developing.

For Americans all round the world, 4 July is Independence Day, marking the historical event in 1776 when the US Declaration of Independence announced that the 13 American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, were now independent states and thus no longer a part of the British empire.

Menwith Hill celebrated Independence Day a week before. Maybe this was because traditionally at Menwith Hill we are there on 4 July with an alternative view. Once again we will be calling for independence from US military and foreign policy. However, we know that empires come and go. We hope that many people will join us tomorrow.

Lindis Percy

Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases

• I see Tony Blair is to be presented with a medal by former US president Bill Clinton for "bringing liberty" to people around the world (Iraq papers show Goldsmith warning to Blair, 1 July). I'm sure John and Linda Catt – now classed as "domestic extremists" thanks to Blair's raft of enabling acts – will join with the relatives of Iraq's million dead in wishing the man further success.

Michael Russell

Kyleakin, Isle of Skye
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