The Spectator

Dutch tensions Sir: Rod Liddle’s magnificent portrayal of Dutch politics is marred by one error (‘Orange alert’, 16 October). The anti-immigration and anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders is not ‘almost bizarrely Aryan’, as Liddle states. His grandmother was from a Jewish Indonesian family. His blond hair is peroxided. These facts, unlike many about Mr Wilders, are not in dispute. David Jones Amsterdam The philosophy of Stone Sir: I could have a little more respect for Oliver Stone’s views on cutting defence spending in the UK if he had the slightest idea what he was talking about (‘When Stone gets stick’, 16 October).

Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson ‘reveals’ that 1.5 million jobs will be created during the cuts, and sets out 10 points about the CSR. James Forsyth says the cuts were not as deep as expected, and terms the MoD ‘not fit for purpose’. Peter Hoskin brings back the meat from the IFS’ briefing, and finds the chart that may cause the coalition trouble. David Blackburn notes that Andrew Mitchell has received an important visitor, and watches Ed Balls fire his first salvo at Theresa May. Martin Bright urges the Cabinet to show its Big Society credentials. Susan Hill bumps into one of her heroes at the Cheltenham Literary Festival.

With the strategic defence review hot off the presses, The Spectator asked Allan Mallinson, Robert Fox, Con Coughlin, Adam Holloway MP and Richard Dannatt to discuss if the time has come for the army, navy and air force to be combined into a massive British Marine Corps. For the benefit of CoffeeHousers, here is Lloyd Evans' parade ground review.

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers' Wall. For those who haven't come across the Wall before, it's a post we put up each Monday, on which - providing your writing isn't libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency - you'll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there's no need to stay 'on topic' - which means you'll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There's also no constraint on the length of what you write - so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything's fair game - from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.

Lessons for the GOP? Sir: In Charles Moore’s notes (9 October), he writes that ‘unusually in modern political history… American politics could learn from Britain something to its advantage’. He seems to support his ‘old friend’ David Frum, who says that the Republican party should follow the David Cameron model and detoxify their party brand. I can’t understand why. Cameron Conservatism can hardly be considered an exemplary success. The Tory leader couldn’t even win an election against an immensely unpopular prime minister who had ruined the country. Republicans, on the other hand, for all their unpopularity across the world, look increasingly certain to win back Congress next month in the US mid-term elections.

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers' Wall. For those who haven't come across the Wall before, it's a post we put up each Monday, on which - providing your writing isn't libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency - you'll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there's no need to stay 'on topic' - which means you'll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There's also no constraint on the length of what you write - so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything's fair game - from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.

Sir: I enjoyed Robert Stewart’s review of the book about James I’s grasp of spin (Books, 2 October), but there is one fact he omits. On pets and people Sir: Baroness Warnock makes a point — frequently made by those who advocate human euthanasia (‘Moral authority’, 2 October) — that ‘we recognise that in animals, when they’re suffering, it’s best to put them out of their misery’. Leaving aside any moral or spiritual issues, a practical, and vital, difference between animals and people is that animals do not have estates to bequeath, legacies to leave, wills to make and the complex paraphernalia of property and revenue.