So much for supremacy in weapons technology

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CASUALTIES OF WAR

How horrific that the United States and Israel, with their renowned supremacy in weapons technology, apparently hit a girls’ primary school in southern Iran, killing about 165 people, and wounding 95, according to Iran (“Children killed in strike on girls’ primary school”, 1/3). As it stands, this is the greatest “mass casualty event” of this war. Children, their educators and families are bearing the shocking brunt of what is, at best, a military failure to safely operate these powerful weapons.
Barbara Chapman, South Yarra

Australian values? Really?
Can Anthony Albanese or Penny Wong, or anyone in government, explain how killing 100 girls in a school in Iran demonstrates the “Australian values” that are apparently so important, let alone how it contributes to the achievement of peace in the Middle East?
Hal K. Colebatch, Hawthorn

The building of bomb shelters – or not
Without warning, 165 schoolgirls were killed in an unprovoked attack by Israel and the US, and Kylie Moore-Gilbert blames Iran for not building bomb shelters (“Why Iranians are celebrating being bombed”, 2/3). Who can argue with that?
Mark Bradbeer, Brunswick

Justifications for war unconvincing
Your correspondent (Letters, 2/3) is quite right about Iran’s despotism and sponsorship of terrorism. But the Middle East is full of despotic states that sponsor terrorism. Saudi Arabia, for example, is allowed to continue masquerading as an ally of the West in spite of its potential complicity in the 9/11 attacks and its sponsorship of Sunni jihadists in Syria. Why, then, are there no calls for intervention in these countries? Furthermore, in retaliation, Iran may continue to fire missiles at US bases in the region, or close the Strait of Hormuz, thereby putting lives and the global economy at risk. The justifications given for the war on Iran are unconvincing.
Nikhil Dhanabal, Clyde North

Thousands celebrating for a reason
Seeing thousands of joyous Iranians celebrating the death of their murderous tyrant of a leader is all the justification needed for the attack on Iran.
Greg Hardy, Upper Ferntree Gully

The common denominator
In response to your correspondent who listed countries and areas Israel has attacked and suggested that’s the regime that needs to be changed (Letters, 2/3), each of those Israel attacked had either attacked Israel first or was sheltering those who had, and they were almost all Iran or its proxies. Iran openly called for the genocide of Israel, to wipe it off the map, and is building a nuclear bomb to do so. The people on the ships Israel intercepted had made clear they were seeking to breach Israel’s blockade.
Stephen Lazar, Elwood

So, now might makes right?
Your correspondents in favour of the American and Israeli attacks on Iran (Letters, 2/3) omit to mention that they were not authorised by the UN nor by the legislatures of either country. Our prime minister did not mention it either. Does silence mean acceptance that might makes right? Mirna Cicioni, Brunswick East

Retaliation will come
No doubt certain Western leaders will celebrate the death of Ali Hosseini Khamenei, but he is just one head of a many-headed hydra and many more will grow back and unleash their fury. Donald Trump has no middle game and end game, as we have seen in Venezuela, Gaza and Ukraine. It is full on and then what?
We may not see another Twin Towers-type of strike, but retaliation will come. Terrorism will run rampant just as it did after Afghanistan and the Iraq wars.
Our government has a duty to keep us safe. Egging on Trump fails in that duty.
Greg Tuck, Warragul

THE FORUM

We’re a fake middle power
George Brandis rightly praises Canada’s authoritative middle-power voice based on its deployment of soft-power strategies in international politics (“O Canada, O Albanese: This middle power roars as Australia’s exemplar”, 2/3).
Australia’s middle-power self-imagining is entirely based on its security dependence on the United States. This makes the country a dependent middle power – the weakest and most vulnerable basis for claiming middle-power status in international relations.
In fact, dependent middle powers are fake middle powers. The only “authority” they have in global affairs is based on following the “leader”, which, for Australia in today’s chaotic world, is Donald Trump – hence Anthony Albanese’s craven support for Trump’s attack on Iran.
A genuinely sovereign Australia should remain neutral on issues that do not directly impinge on its security.
Allan Patience, Newport

No need to kowtow to US
I don’t often agree with George Brandis, but his analysis of where Canada stands in the world with Mark Carney as its leader is spot on. Carney has shown that there is no need to kowtow to the US under Donald Trump and is making Canada a country that is respected for its stance on many issues – unfortunately, unlike Australia under Anthony Albanese.
Australia was the first Western nation to congratulate Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu on their attack on Iran.
More considered politicians and countries have demurred to keep their mouths firmly shut.
Alan Inchley, Frankston

Canadians can teach us
Just one wish for the visit of the Canadian prime minister this week: Can we learn some much-needed lessons here in Australia? The Canucks have mastered how to be independent while right on the US borders. Surely, they can teach us that lesson while we are in another hemisphere.
Tony Haydon, Springvale

Flights up in the air
With air space in the Middle East now closed (“Travel plans disrupted by the war? Your insurer is unlikely to help”, 2/3), why can’t the airlines, the Australian, Canadian, US, UK and European governments get together and fly passengers via the US or Canada? The airlines should be required to refund all fares paid, and passengers can use those refunds, topped up if necessary by the federal government, for the new flights.
Robert McCormick, Bridgewater, SA

A justified price
The pre-emptive strikes by Israel and the US on Iran have taken a toll on the world with commercial airline flights cancelled and price hikes in oil. I wonder how many of the thousands of young Iranians who were gunned down and killed during the recent anti-regime protests would believe the inconvenience and cost to us isn’t a justified price to be paid.
Charles Freeman, Caulfield South

Chickens home to roost
As the world rightly worries about the oil supply choke point at the Strait of Hormuz (“Dire straits: The oil industry is facing its worst nightmare”, 2/3), a smart Albanese government would be unfazed because it had supported rapid electrification of our transport system.
Jenny Smithers, Ashburton

Lifters or leaners?
As I understand Opposition Leader Angus Taylor (“Taylor draws line over property tax breaks”, 2/3), an aspirational person is one who wants to get rich by buying existing housing stock and getting other taxpayers, including those unable to own their own homes or not in a position to buy an investment property or three, to subsidise them through generous capital gains tax and negative gearing benefits.
I wonder where such a person would sit in former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey’s taxonomy of “lifters and leaners”?
John Annison, Lilydale

Funding others’ goals
Angus Taylor is against winding back the property tax breaks for investors because “it’s an attack on aspiration”. Well, my children aspire to owning a home but will struggle to compete with
the investor class because these tax perks have helped to put housing beyond the reach of the average person.
We are sick of our tax dollars going to fund a wealthy person’s property portfolio.
Barry Lizmore, Ocean Grove

Women watch in horror
As we approach International Women’s Day on Sunday, the majority of women around the globe watch in horror at – or are victims of – the death and violence happening on a mega scale.
The vast majority of perpetrators are male, as they step from acting out war with their toy soldiers, to sitting in front of their violent video games and actually being a part of violent wars around the world.
Alongside this is the ever present evil of domestic violence. Women have to think twice about walking in isolated areas, or after a certain time of the day.
And the release of those files exposing the disgusting exploitation of young women by wealthy and powerful men.
Women of the world: Continue to be strong, continue to be non-violent, continue to be difficult for good reasons, continue to stand up for and be agents of peace.
We are spectacular and powerful in our kindness.
Andrea North, Sandhurst

Rearranging deck chairs
Premier Jacinta Allan is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic with the removal of protective services officers (“Police and safety officers to patrol shopping centres until the end of the year”, 1/3). Their number will change from 224 down to 104 at railway stations. Allan has failed to tell the communities what stations will not be protected.
The government has had a trial of PSOs at shopping centres, with claims of 452 arrests, 971 charges being laid and more than 100 weapons seized. No figures on the successful prosecution of these charges. How many suspects have been released on bail or had charges dropped or downgraded? What are the ages of the offenders, as a measure of the effectiveness of curbing youth crime?
Apparently, fewer PSOs at railway stations will increase the safety of Victorians.
We only have PSOs because we cannot attract enough people wanting to join the understaffed Victorian police force.
Ross Kroger, Geelong

Footy great wins out
Your correspondent (Letters, 2/3) bemoans changing Brunton Avenue to Barassi Way, suggesting we will lose a valuable link with her ancestor, flour miller and politician Thomas Brunton. But the avenue was named after civic father Sir William Brunton (1867-1938), who was lord mayor of Melbourne and principal of the hardware firm, Currie & Richards. He was a notable fundraiser for charities, and promoter of the Shrine of Remembrance.
The “Brunton” report of 1925 recommended amalgamating Melbourne’s municipalities into a Greater Melbourne Council. But hey, Ron Barassi was a footballer. You can’t do any better than that in Melbourne.
David Dunstan, Toorak

AI dumbing people down
I am being bombarded by ads spruiking artificial intelligence, and offering to write my emails for me. No thanks, I will do my own thinking and writing.
And what happens if after writing, AI takes over reading, so people become increasingly illiterate and eventually mere vessels for the passage of data until they are obsolete?
Real intelligence is nurtured and informed by literacy and numeracy. For all its yet-to-be proven promises in the big arenas of life and business, on the micro level AI is dumbing people down, ripe for the channelling of Flawed, Incomplete, Biased (FIB) information and the peddling of specific agendas at the expense of truth and humanity.
Emma Borghesi, Rye

My cyber friend got a fail
I had a long interaction with AI when I asked it to confirm that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor was a Rhodes Scholar and had gained a degree at Oxford. According to my AI, the “Angus Taylor” who did go to Oxford was another person with the same name. And no amount of evidence I provided would change the argument of my cyber friend. According to the AI, it was all a terrible mistake that could be put down to an official’s error.
My conclusion? Take everything that AI tells you with a healthy dose of scepticism.
David Fry, Moonee Ponds

Better sites for ‘vampires’
It’s sad to see huge data centres springing up close to residential housing in West Footscray (“Data centres becoming suburban ‘energy vampires’”, 1/3). Surely, better locations could be found in industrial areas around Melbourne. For example, along Kororoit Creek Road, Altona, where the recently expired “value-adding manufacturers” factories (petrochemical businesses dependent on feedstocks from Bass Strait gas) are now shut and mostly rusting away while awaiting demolition.
They have depended on substantial electricity and water supplies, so the infrastructure connections may already be there for data centres. The areas are sufficient for plenty of solar panels both on the roofs of the data centres or on the surrounding land to reduce the demand on domestic power supplies.
The loss of the former factories is sad – and bad for the economy – but the extensive land areas they have sat on since the 1960s will always be industrial.
John Robert, Surrey Hills

Another form of pollution
Given the destructive environmental impacts of enormous data centres, it is time to consider whether the data we thoughtlessly store in the cloud is necessary. Not deleting trivial or unnecessary information is another form of pollution.
Sue Fisher, Coburg

AND ANOTHER THING ...

Trump
For sale: FIFA Peace Prize. Still in box. Hardly used by previous owner.
John Fife, Box Hill South

I’ve seen this “America saves the world” movie a few times before. Spoiler alert: it never ends well.
Matt Dunn, Leongatha

Donald Trump’s video statement: No tie, and a baseball cap. This is serious. Let’s hope he doesn’t go
as far as Mickey Mouse ears.
Peter Dodds, Montmorency

Trump claims to have stopped eight wars but he has bombed seven countries, so his meagre net Nobel score should be just one.
Tony James, Battery Point, Tas.

Would you buy a used sub from this man?
George Stockman, Bendigo

ISIS brides
Any hope of getting the 34 women and children out of the al-Roj camp in north-east Syria just got a whole lot harder.
Nick Toovey, Beaumaris

Politics
The remaining Liberal voters – who haven’t yet deserted to One Nation or the teals – must be suffering from FOMO.
Greg Lee, Red Hill

So federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor considers cosying up to One Nation. Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.
Jane Ross, San Remo

Self-driving cars
Let’s hope the self-driving Teslas actually “use” their indicators and don’t drive through roundabouts without looking.
Bernd Rieve, Brighton

So a self-driving Tesla cannot fathom a hook turn? Neither can many of our non-AI steering wheel attendants.
Pete Garfield, Echuca

Furthermore
Yes, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should “sing like a canary” (Letters, 2/3) but like a galah would be more apt.
Adrian Tabor, Point Lonsdale

Finally
While I agree with those who raise concerns about the power and water requirements of data centres, I am reminded of a line from The Life of Brian, and will torture it by asking, “what has data ever done for us?”
Brandon Mack, Deepdene

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To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.