Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au.
Monday February 23
Trump continues to threaten Iran
“On the situation in Iran, Dr Assal Rad recently noted: ‘Isn’t it weird how the legality of [the US attacking Iran] is not even part of the discussion?’ European and Australian political leaders are silent on this, and Western mainstream coverage treats legality as peripheral. Could you commission a rapid-turnaround analysis from an international law scholar on the legality of the current threats made by the US before events overtake the discussion?”
Richard Bean
Lord of the Flies
“I actually saw the film before reading the book. I vividly remember the reaction of the audience at its end: shock, horror, even tears. The story haunted me for years afterwards. As a teacher I had the joy of watching young people grow, but never knew that Golding was a teacher too!”
Gavin O'Brien
No, thank you Jan!
“Thank you all at The Conversation. So good to be able to read reliable and trustworthy articles.”
Jan Marsh 
Tuesday February 24
Purpose over perfection
“I was absolutely appalled to read that 54% of young Australian women are considering cosmetic surgery at some point in their lives. Advertising, social media and ridiculous supposed beauty ideals have a lot to answer for. Beauty is about who you are, how you contribute to the world and how you care for others, not how you look. Wake up young ladies; stop worrying about how you look and start living!”
Andrea Cohen, Alexandra, VIC
Epstein’s influence
“While the political and economic influences of Jeffrey Epstein will take many years to uncover, I find it difficult to read the various reactions by so many people that are shorn of the understanding we have developed over many years, of how perpetrators ‘suck in’ allies as well as victims. The skillset of sexual perpetrators makes them particularly talented at recruiting allies, even if those allies have no idea of their purpose. This is true of all corrupt people, not just sexual offenders. We should not be negatively judging these collateral victims. This is not to excuse, in any way, those who have chosen to join the original offender in their offending behaviour. As someone who has worked with child and adolescent sexual assault survivors/thrivers over a prolonged period of time in various roles, I have often worked with those who have been blamed but are actually victims, as they have been taken in by very cunning perpetrators. I would really like to see a more nuanced discussion of perpetrator behaviour and a wider understanding of who is a victim.”
Mary Drake
Wednesday February 25
Investing in water safety
“Your story on funding for elite winter sportspeople was in stark contrast to the story published recently about the decline in swimming standards in Australia. It seems foolish to invest so much public money preparing a few individuals for sports that most people in this country cannot access. I enjoy the spectacle of the Winter Olympics as much as anyone, but I don’t feel the need for Australia to top the medal tally. I am comfortable with the reality that we live in a largely dry country, surrounded by water. Let’s ensure everyone can swim!”
Angela Brown, Tamworth NSW
Growth without gain
“We’ve had an enormous amount of economic growth since the start of the century, but as your article about real wages going backwards points out, we appear to be going backwards economically. Our environmental integrity is also being shattered, and our social infrastructure neglected. We need to follow the example of many Indigenous cultures and focus on the fundamentals – our relationship with the Earth, on which we entirely rely, and with each other. Our dependence on "growth” is warping these relationships and driving inequality, creating an unsustainable and unsafe environment for our current and future generations.“
Jennie Epstein, Little River, VIC FoTC
Thanks for the warning
"Benjamin Muir may take solace in the knowledge that his withering review of Fennell’s adaptation of Brontë’s classic work has not contributed to my wanting to see the movie in any way. But I have definitely now placed a reservation on the novel at my local library!”
Sarah Murton, Kabi Kabi Country
Thursday February 26
High speed rail mistake
“The proposed High Speed Rail link (HSR) from Sydney to Newcastle is mistaken in its baseline assumption – that high population density is necessary along the route to drive patronage. This is NOT how overseas HSR operates. Overseas experience demonstrates that HSR works best where it matches or replaces an existing air shuttle corridor. The best option for a ‘first’ HSR in Australia is Sydney to Melbourne which, while a lot longer than Sydney to Newcastle, will require minimal tunneling and mostly above ground track bed or overhead viaducts that are relatively simple and more cost effective to construct. Possibly as little as half the estimated cost for Sydney-Newcastle, as land can be resumed by government for little cost, or ‘flown over’ on viaducts for near zero cost. Population density doesn’t matter. Only air shuttle passenger volumes matter, and Sydney to Melbourne is one of the world’s busiest air shuttle corridors.”
Mark Walker, West Kempsey NSW
Friday February 27
*Our citizens, our duty *
“The plight of the ‘ISIS brides’ and their children stuck in Syria has generated hysteria in our political masters in Australia. These are Australian citizens, they are our national responsibility, no matter where they are or what they have been up to. Syria’s new government cannot be expected to keep them in their country. By all means, these people must have the legal book thrown at them when they are finally brought back to our shores. To abandon them to the uncertainty of events in the chaos of Syria is cynical politics for domestic approval. Syria should not be expected to have the responsibility of caring for them indefinitely when they have far more pressing problems to handle.”
Kevin Odea
Slippery slope
“Martin Kear’s article on ‘contested phrases’ speaks only to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. While Martin shows these phrases are but divisive slogans for ideological positions, such sloganised phrases are age old. To legislate against the use of two such phrases in public is merely taking sides. The alternative is to (somehow) legislate against all sloganised phrases. All-embracive legislation would ban sloganised phrases such as ‘Always was, always will be’, for example.”
Dr Bruce Moon, West Tweed
The middle ear myth
“In my working life I spent 25+ years testing children’s hearing, I talked to a lot of parents about middle ear infections, and I found one trend very worrying. Many parents pulled young children from swimming lessons in the mistaken belief that it was causing recurrent middle ear infection. Middle ear infections are very common in young children and occur behind the eardrum, which is watertight. Water from the pool cannot get into the middle ear if the eardrum is intact. There are some specific circumstances where swimming should be avoided temporarily but there is not a connection between swimming and middle ear infection. ‘Swimmer’s ear’, an outer ear infection, is not the same thing and is much less common in kids. I understand wanting to avoid painful recurrent ear infection, but avoiding swimming is very unlikely to make any difference and potentially put children’s lives at risk.”
Kim Ter-horst