LETTERS

BEN Butler's report "Salvos' small loss is no retreat" (BusinessDay, 12/1) comes when we want to open our wallets to help those affected by the floods. In contrasting the Salvation Army's operating deficit in the 2009-10 financial year with its $26.3 million surplus the year before, the report identifies "an unusually large bequest and extra donations due to the Black Saturday bushfires" as "two one-off sources of revenue that boosted the 2008-09 result".

People who gave $18 million to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal intended it to be spent on giving aid to the victims. Sure, there are administrative costs. But donors give for the disaster, not to prop up a charity's balance sheet or help it in its other good causes. The Australian Red Cross lost me when it was revealed that seven months after the Bali bombing, "large amounts of money" raised by its appeal were being spent on projects that appeared to have nothing directly to do with the victims (The Age, 17/5/2003).

Institutionalised charities regard every donation as a "donation", no matter what the cause. I will make my donation for the flood victims to the state government's fund. I am not confident its administration will match what I have in mind, but I am more comfortable with that than giving to any charity's appeal.

Frances Hanks, Malvern

Yet more extremes

ROGER Mendelson (Letters, 12/1) indulges in the simplistic ignorance beloved of climate-change deniers that if it is cold and wet, then global warming is not happening. No models of global warming predict that it will never rain or be cool in Australia again. The heating of the planet produces more energy so that floods, cyclones (such as Cyclone Larry) and droughts get worse. They also predict that Europe and eastern North America will have colder winters as melting of the Greenland Ice Shelf slows the Gulf Stream.

The Bureau of Meteorology reports that the past decade is the warmest on record and the next warmest was the 1990s. Current events are evidence that supports the notion of anthropogenic global warming.

Patrick Kavanagh, Strangways

Go green and save

I HAVE just received our much-dreaded, first quarterly bill since switching to 100 per cent GreenPower electricity. The result? We paid an extra $11 tariff. But over the three months, the entire bill was $50 less than the previous quarter thanks to an inexpensive remote control switch we installed to cut off standby power. For those who can afford it, there is no reason not to change to 100 per cent GreenPower. If we all did that, what a powerful message it would send to our government and energy retailers.

Rose Tehan, Fitzroy North

Protecting our weak

SARAH Palin did not pull the trigger in the Arizona shootings (Daniel Flitton, Opinion, 11/1). But did she did help to load the gun with her aggressive rhetoric? Why was her "cross-hairs map" targeting opponents including Gabrielle Giffords removed from the internet within minutes of the shooting tragedy? The guilt of a nation is always revealed in the behaviour of individuals.

But Flitton misses a more important point. "Madmen" (his term) rarely act out in stable and supportive societies. It is when those societies fail that the vulnerable members on the edge fall through the protective net, often taking their lives and those of others. The signs of social failure are all too often crystal clear. Once we see hateful rhetoric and targeting of individuals, we can be sure that somewhere, at some time, some individual hovering on the brink of reality will act out the hatred permeating his society. Not only must we be vigilant and responsible in our use of language, we must be aware of, and ready to respond to, the weaker members of our society who live on reality's fringe.

Dr Peter Evans, Hawthorn

Words can inflame

AS SOMEONE who was born in Belfast, I am aware of the power of words and simplistic slogans, such as "United Ireland" and "No Surrender". They are the seeds from which the weeds of bigotry and communal terrorism spread. These weeds take years to eradicate, if indeed it is ever possible. The debate should not be about if the words of Palin and the shock jocks are demonstrably responsible for the murders in Arizona but if they may be.

Joe Wright, Greensborough

Sharing the task

OH DEAR, David Campbell (Opinion, 10/1). Of course, the "complex and potentially distressing task" of deciding what to keep and what to dispose of should not be left to the next generation. But neither is it the sole responsibility of the previous one. Family memories are made by families, generations of them, interacting over the years.

Perhaps it would be easier to make these necessary decisions with all generations participating so that everyone knew the difference between what is precious and what is in the "too hard at this moment" basket. Maybe all that takes is an offer to help with what to the previous generation can seem a lonely and overwhelming task. After all, who better than the next generation to know what it considers important? And who better to explain the significance of it than the previous one?

Elaine Hill, Warrnambool

Oh, the poor dears

IT WAS with much disgust that I read the article damning the AFL's decision to use Virgin Blue to fly players across the country on flights that cannot be upgraded (Sport, 12/1). Those poor footballers have to sit in economy like everyone else. Heaven forbid that they might be treated like "normal" people.

Prominent sports doctor Peter Larkins cites "increased risk of deep vein thrombosis". Spare a thought for the many thousands of athletes, such as cyclists, runners and skiers, who have more red blood cells and thus are more at risk of DVT than AFL players. These unsung heroes pay for their own long-haul flights, do not get upgraded and try to compete for their country week in, week out. If AFL players need extensive leg room on planes, make them pay for the upgrade themselves.

Andrew Wynd, physiotherapist, Balwyn

Less than ideal

PETER Christoff puts forward the idea that Norway's approach to taxing resources is better than the proposed Australian model and says how much Norwegian society has benefited (Opinion, 11/1). However, a look at its economy shows a sorry picture. The debt to GDP ratio is 60 per cent, about the same as Spain. Despite the high resources taxes, Norwegians pay a value-added tax (GST) of 25 per cent for general purchases and 14 per cent for food. It does not seem like the ideal society that Mr Christoff describes as a model for Australia.

Colin McLean, Montrose

Unsuitable image

PETER Warburton (Letters, 10/1) is right that the photograph of the model on the Rivers catalogue is an artistically beautiful and sensuous portrayal of an attractive young woman. Had I seen it in a gallery, I would have been impressed by the photographer's talent. What shocked me (and I am sure this was Rivers' intention) was its presence on a catalogue of a retailer that sells clothing to men, women and children. I will no longer purchase goods from Rivers. New prudery? I think not. Rather, a mother who is deeply concerned about how her daughters are affected by constant inappropriate sexualisation of the female body and the damage this causes to their self-esteem and how this impinges on their ability to function fully and equally as citizens.

Yvette Gretton, Kyneton

Safety in numbers

POLICE Chief Commissioner Simon Overland should visit Spain if he wants to know how to make people feel safe, particularly on public transport. In the cities we have visited, police are everywhere. Not only in pairs but also in groups. Not only on foot but in cars and on motorcycles. Police and/or security guards in train and bus stations every time we have been at one. If the guards or officers are on their own, they have a German shepherd with them. I have never felt safer.

Claude Tomisich, Pascoe Vale South (currently in Valencia)

A dog in a million

STEVE Meacham "Story of war veteran Sarbi has a celebrity twist in tale" (The Age, 11/1) the RSPCA board in Australia voted unanimously in June 2010 to award her the RSPCA Purple Cross, which recognises animal bravery to a high degree. Only a few animals have received this award. The RSPCA has had to wait for Sarbi to finish quarantine in Dubai and return to Australia. The army has agreed to notify the society of a suitable ceremony where she can be invested with the award a medal and ribbon.

Hugh Wirth, president, RSPCA Victoria