WikiLeaks has some lessons for us all, old and new. Old, to always remember what our mothers told us - if you can't something nice about someone, don't say anything. New, for all of us, no matter what our positions, to realise that all electronic communication systems are little more than a gigantic Facebook.

Whatever is ''posted'' into any system, even a supposedly secure one, all it takes is a marginal ''friend'' to repost without your permission. Our children are learning about the perils of careless Facebook images and comments; perhaps it is time for those in positions of power to do the same.

Andy Carnahan Bowral

Julian Assange's lawyers, presumably under instructions from their client, describe him as a ''homeless international refugee'' (''Julian Assange's bank account cancelled'', smh.com.au, December 7).

Presumably, then, he has renounced his Australian citizenship because he doesn't want to be associated with a free democracy in which our Foreign Minister does not seek to deny leaked comments he is said to have made about a major trading partner, but rather confirms that in international relationships all options and perspectives are discussed.

Does anyone think Kevin Rudd does not have off-the-record discussions about the United States or any other country with his counterparts in China and other countries with which we have a relationship?

WikiLeaks and its supporters risk becoming their own worst enemies in having no clear goal (other than leaking secret diplomatic documents because they can), being incapable of understanding or accepting responsibility for any fallout of their actions and having lost all sense of perspective.

Bernie de Vries Bolwarra

For heaven's sake, enough is enough. Any computer-savvy 10-year-old with a basic knowledge of Google could produce this list in 10 minutes (''Leaks offer targets for terrorist attacks'', December 7).

That the only factory in the world which produces antivenom for rattlesnakes or that the security of undersea communication cables would be important to the US is blindingly obvious.

These facilities are no more or less at risk today than they were before the WikiLeaks revelations.

Shall we throw in a few more for good measure? Defence production facilities that make ships and planes, munitions factories, bridges? Sorry if the terrorists are making notes.

Neil Starrett Russell Lea

Is there really any difference between the Herald obtaining secret police briefings and publishing them, for whatever reason, and WikiLeaks (''Anti-amphetamine scheme floundering'', December 6)?

Or is the difference in the assumed importance of the people and/or the institutions targeted?

Diane Eklund-Abolins Kariong

Internet attacks on WikiLeaks servers? Isn't that something only the Chinese do? Julian Assange must be relieved a US senator has called for him only to be prosecuted ''to the fullest extent of the law''. Can anyone enlighten us as to whose laws, in what jurisdiction?

James Fuller Nimbin

Julia Gillard says Julian Assange has committed an illegal act (''PM can't say what law WikiLeaks has broken'', smh.com.au, December 7). The Prime Minister surely must know that a cornerstone of the law - perhaps the most important principle - is the presumption of innocence.

Even if Mr Assange has infringed any law, in Australia or elsewhere, he is entitled to that presumption.

Mitchell Landrigan Glebe

Just a bit player in so much that needs to be set right

Wake up, Australia. Wake up, world. This is not just about the United States or anyone else, this is about the truth.

Know your facts. Go to wikipedia.org and search for the WikiLeaks entry. Read it. Do not miss ''Toxic dumping in Africa''. We are talking about exposure of real crimes and violations of international laws and treaties.

Nothing WikiLeaks has done in its exposures is of any consequence except that we insist those responsible are held accountable for their actions. The real crimes and violations are, of course, many and serious.

We have so much for which to thank the United States, including its naval hero Stephen Decatur: ''My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.'' Let's hope and pray the US eventually gets this right, after a very patchy start.

We in Australia do not expect our heroes to be lily white, in fact we rather savour it more if they are not. The might of many states is being used to crush a small organisation and a courageous, if flawed, citizen.

Is that the world in which we want to live? Now is the time to know, to stand up and to be counted. Not everything will be perfect in a world with WikiLeaks, but it will be a darker wilderness without.

Barry Brunning Dee Why

Fear of consequences very real for doctors

Bravo to Colleen Cartwright (''We should not tolerate inadequate pain management for the terminally ill'', December 6) and Jan McCarthy (Letters, December 6). So why are doctors reluctant to prescribe enough opiates or less futile treatment when requested by dying patients or their relatives?

It is the fear of the possible social and legal consequences: from public castigation, to being hauled before medical boards with consequent professional deregistration and destitution, to being charged and convicted of manslaughter or murder.

It takes only one busybody witness in a hospital, be it another doctor, nurse or cleaner, to report the ''suspicious behaviour'' of a caring doctor who tries to provide ''a good death'', for the whole nightmare of investigation to unfurl.

Very few medical professionals are able to withstand this legal onslaught and the devastation of personal and professional life. Patients will continue to suffer horrible deaths from terminal illness in intensive care units until adequate protection is offered to medical professionals.

Dr Jennifer Gray Ballina

Here, then gone. It was tragic and sudden and the grief was acute and seemed insurmountable. But after years of resolution and now on reading the Herald series about dying, I know there is something positive to say about sudden death. My apologies to anyone dealing with sudden death now; it won't seem that way.

Bernadette Scadden Earlwood

Rita Joseph (Letters, December 7) needs to be reminded that vast amounts of money are committed to quality healthcare of people in the final years of life, and in searching for treatments that may extend life for those with terminal or life-threatening diseases. Individuals, not doctors, are demanding end-of-life choices.

It's insulting to suggest the medical profession is poised to ''cross the Rubicon'' of ''medicalised killing''. Ms Joseph attempts to shift blame to the medical profession for the growing pressure for choice on voluntary euthanasia. It is patently not the medical profession and researchers who are driving this. They are trained and conditioned to save and prolong life, even in the face of hopelessness, and scorn from beancounters and health economists analysing the burden of our ageing population.

Logically, many medical professionals and researchers would be doing themselves out of jobs, receiving less research funding and seeing their empires collapse if they were not motivated to save and prolong life.

Robyn Dalziell Castle Hill

Solution rests with the Tax Office

The desire of Harvey Norman and Myer to set up online shopping overseas is understandable, but if the Tax Office was doing its job there would be no GST advantage for large overseas direct sellers (''Harvey: I'll build offshore website'', December 7).

Any overseas business that sells directly to Australian consumers and has turnover in its sales to Australia of more than $75,000 a year is required to charge GST on these sales. On that basis they should be no better placed than local retailers.

Assuming Harvey Norman and Myer want to comply with the law, there should be no advantage in setting up overseas websites. The solution is for the Tax Office to enforce the law for all relevant sales, which it acknowledges it does not have the resources to do, or to bring forward the plan to remove non-resident sellers from the GST net.

Bob Fraser Connor Anderson International, customs brokers and international forwarders, Mascot

The greater cost

I applaud Jeffrey Mellefont (Letters, December 7) for pointing out that raising the price of energy would reduce demand, but the cynic in me says the wealthy would not change their habits. The poor - many of whom already minimise energy use just to pay the bills - are the ones who would suffer.

Randi Svensen Leura

Spruiking Oz helps to bridge the gap

I disagree with David Tucker's argument (Letters, December 6), in effect that advertising Australia as a tourist destination is redundant. Most people know Australia has much to offer, but the tyranny of distance is a significant obstacle to attracting people to our shores.

Last week I was discussing the soccer World Cup bids with a Russian colleague, a highly educated, well-travelled young man who speaks several languages. After praising Russia's excellent video for its bid, I showed him our cringeworthy effort. He agreed it was a bit tacky, but excitedly said, "I am definitely going to Australia next year. That looks awesome."

Everyone I speak to knows Australia is meant to be ''nice''. The challenge is in selling the "awesome". Oprah Winfrey's show is watched in many countries, most of them a long-haul flight away from Australia. I hope her viewers will see that the trip is worth the cost and the jetlag, even with young children. It is.

Alexander Higgs Moscow

I recently visited Sydney for an academic conference. Getting back to Australia for a visit was great, but a taste of how predatory the tourism industry has become was less agreeable.

A taxi from the airport to our city hotel: $81. Small bottles of water in the room: $4 each. Room rate: almost $250 a night. Arrive at 10am: ''No room available until at least 1.30pm, sir.'' Return taxi to the airport: ''Our credit card surcharge is 11 per cent, sir.''

The view was good and the room very spacious. But for the entire trip one felt rather like a merino waiting its turn in the shearing shed.

I gather Australian tourism is not travelling so well. Frankly, based on this visit, it's hardly a surprise.

Richard Cullen Hong Kong

Wilkie has selected the wrong club

As a former Narrabri resident and member of the Narrabri Golf Club, I laughed out loud at Andrew Wilkie's description of clubs being "powerful and wealthy organisations" (''Locals confront MPs over pokie plan'', December 7). The golf club has maybe a dozen poker machines, which make barely enough to pay for the water bill to keep the 18 holes playable.

In the six years I was a member of the club its biggest profit was less than $3000. Perhaps Mr Wilkie is confusing clubs with the online gambling operators who somehow slipped his attention when he struck a deal with Julia Gillard.

Scott Neylon Bomaderry

Children pawns in tired old argument

Roslyn Phillips (Letters, December 7) says a recent study shows a link between children, violent games and an increased risk of aggression.

Do any studies show that children who play violent games go on to become thugs, murderers or rapists? Does the study say when precisely they were more aggressive? (I suspect it was just when playing the game.)

Has there been an increase in schoolyard violence in recent years traceable to video games? Any positive correlation between violent video games and an increase in domestic violence? Did the study suggest there were any materially detrimental effects, other than an increased risk of developing the emotive state known as aggression?

No? I thought as much. R18+ content has been around for years in films and we seem to have managed to avoid homicidal and overtly aggressive generations of children.

In any case, Ms Phillips's arguments are entirely moot since the study surveyed children. There should be no way for children to legally acquire or play R18+ games unless mum and dad give them a helping hand or fail to supervise them properly. Similarly, the truly vulnerable children from a psychological perspective - those under 15 - should not be exposed even to the moderately violent MA15+ games.

This tired old argument needs to be taken out the back and shot. It has nothing to do with children and everything to do with the rights of consenting adults. Bring on the R18+ classification and let mature (or immature), responsible (or irresponsible) adult citizens access the same content and have the same freedoms as their peers worldwide.

James Hill Roseville

Double standards from Keneally

Kristina Keneally has not called for the resignation from Parliament of one of her colleagues who has been found by the ICAC to have ''engaged in corrupt conduct'', claiming it is not her job to do so. (''NSW MP rorted expenses, corruption watchdog finds'', smh.com.au, December 7).

If it's good enough for the Premier to successfully call for the president of the NSW branch of the ALP because of her loss of confidence in him, surely she cannot tolerate the presence in the Parliament of one found to have engaged in corrupt conduct and in whom she must have no confidence.

Daryl Jordan Denistone

Gutter problems under control


The claim by Angus Kell of the Australian Institute of Architects that "TAFE plumbers are still being taught using manuals from the 1980s" is wrong ("New homes at risk from faulty guttering", December 6).

TAFE NSW teaches apprentices under the national training package for plumbing, developed in consultation with industry and implemented last year. TAFE teachers are industry experts and use up-to-date techniques and learning materials in line with current industry standards.

TAFE NSW plumbing teachers are aware of problems associated with high-front gutters and advise apprentices appropriately.

Pam Christie Deputy director-general, TAFE and Community Education, Sydney

Promises, promises

Any progress on the Parramatta-Epping railway, or was that just an election promise?

George Rosier Carlingford

 

Keep the curfew

I'm sure John Rugg knows Avgas is not used in jet aircraft and that commercial aircraft do not produce sonic booms (''Silent and deprived'', December 7). Humour is a good campaign tool, but it has to have some sort of credibility.

True, I have to block my ears when a big jet flies right over Norton Street or my backyard, but it lasts for seconds only. What we have to hold out for is no relaxing of the curfew.

Anne Roberts Leichhardt

 

Dam inconvenient

Can the media stop referring to the floods as a "natural disaster" (''The levees might just hold … until Thursday's rain'', December 7)? I drove through Gundagai on Saturday, and the birds were having a ball.

While we speak only of the cost to agricultural production, we miss out on the benefits this flood will bring to a system brought to the brink by dams, weirs, invasive species, land clearing and erosion; not to mention reduced rainfall and climate change.

The good news is the system will bounce back from what is an entirely natural and essential process: flooding. Let's start referring to these things as vital and natural, but damn inconvenient events - that's pithy isn't it?

James Forbes Key supporter manager, WWF Australia, Darlinghurst

I was amazed at the insensitive headline ''Pray for rain - Australia's only chance in the Ashes'' (December 7). Many farmers' livelihoods have been ruined by floods; cricket is a sport. Surely the skill of the players should determine the outcome of a game, not the weather.

Marli Davies Leura

 

Off with their heads

Let the sledging begin. So-called cricket supporters and outraged media pundits will now demand the heads of the entire Australian team as they take it as a personal insult that England beat us so comprehensively. This is not the time to whinge and bemoan a lost Ashes summer. Now is when it really gets interesting; for once we are the underdogs and an Ashes victory from here would be the sweetest of them all.

David Whitcombe Maroubra

Please bat on, Ricky. The last thing Australian cricket needs is yet another former captain telling the world every weakness in our struggling team.

Greg Thorp Turramurra

Looking on the bright side, the defeat early on day five gives Ponting's men more time to practise before the next Test.

Scott Newham Chatswood

I just have the highlights of the 2006-07 Ashes DVD on a continuous loop.

Phil Benson Woonona

Mrs Warne forgave him. Why can't we? Come back, Shane, Australia needs you. Desperately.

Ray Plibersek Oyster Bay

Can Oprah play cricket?

Eric Hilton West Pennant Hills