You liken the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine to a fierce family squabble and various countries in the European Union to policemen summoned to intervene by the concerned neighbors (“Energetic Squabbles,” January 17, 2009). Bulgaria thus plays the rôle of a confused policeman, Italy of a bored one, and Germany of an exasperated one. But your metaphor is left hanging in the air well before you reach your conclusions, which hardly deserve that name, either. When it comes to the oft repeated gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine, the members of the Union are more like hapless tenants of the squabbling family than policemen of any description. The trouble is that there are few other landlords in the squalid neighborhood, let alone policemen. Still, the best the Union can do is look for them as quickly as possible.