Political repetition | Lakes v loughs | Weighty fruit | First fibs One thing missing from most of the commentaries following the death of Jürgen Habermas ( Editorial, 18 March ) was his use of the expression “history as a learning process”. That he took the idea seriously was understandable, given that he was born in Germany in 1929, but the sad truth is that politicians keep making the same old mistakes even when the consequences of their actions are staring them in the face. Dr Charles Turner University of Warwick • “Testing of water from Lough Neagh, which has a surface area 26 times bigger than Windermere” ( Report, 14 March ). I am in Ohio and I don’t know the size of Windermere. I reckon it is about 26 times smaller than Lough Neagh. Mary Jo Hanlon North Royalton, Ohio, US Continue reading...