Your say: week beginning October 13

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 October 13

AI weapons on the battlefield

“This article reminds me of a famous quote from the movie War Games: ‘The only winning move is not to play’.”

David Stemmer

Going vego for the planet

“Thank you for speaking on the idea of vegetarianism as a viable contributor to the fight against global warming. I have been a vegetarian for 40 years and bore two children without the need for iron tablets and other supplements. And, before you imagine myself and my two daughters as pale -faced, scrawny wimps, we are the tall, strong ones that get looked at when a bag needs to go in the overhead lockers (we oblige!).”

Amanda Gillard

What makes a film Australian?

“Ruari Elkington’s review of The Travellers discusses the Australianness of films like Together, filmed in Australia but set in America and about American characters. If our people and places can be used to make a genre film about Americans, is it ours? I would say that such a film is neither Australian nor un-Australian, but something else altogether. Popcorn.”

Kym Houghton

Tuesday October 14

Our coverage

“Yesterday’s newsletter mentions that Palestinians in Gaza are now ‘returning home’. I was wondering if you think it would have been prudent to be more clear about what home is, given the vast majority of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed?

The coverage on October 7 was equally vacuous: ‘Who would’ve thought that a war in a faraway land would have such an impact in Australia?’ Probably anyone who understands the intersection of capitalism, colonisation, and western supremacy.

These dangerous omissions contribute to the great shame of western media in perpetuating genocide. I do wonder, what will accountability look like, at all levels, when the dust settles?”

Lachlan Greig

Wednesday October 15

What it takes to be Australian

“The children of these ISIS brides have been called Australian. I thought they would have been called Syrian as they were born in Syria. I have a daughter, who with her Australian husband, works in the US. She has three children, born in the US and who are US citizens and have US passports. My grandkids are not Australian just because their parents are Australian. Is this just disinformation by do-gooders to influence local heart-strings?”

Leigh Bunting

Why are we hiding it?

“As a supposedly fair, just and humanitarian nation I would have thought, or at least hoped, that Australia would have gladly acknowledged that 6 out of the remaining 40 or so mothers and children - all Australian citizens - struggling to exist safely in Syrian refugee camps are now back safely on Australian soil. Instead of which, this repatriation is somehow seen as something shameful.”

Maggie Woodhead, Ballajura WA

Doughnut equality

“In the early part of my half-century journey as an environmentalist, I would have sung the praise of the doughnut model. Back then, it was the collective impact of human greed that caused environmental degradation and the solution was to ‘re-educate’ society towards environmental sustainability; both in practice and policy. Now, I must say that one element missing in my ideological fervour back then and missing in the doughnut model now is the issue of educational, moral and financial equality. The more a community pursues widespread equality, the less environmental harm results.”

Dr Bruce Moon, Tweed Heads NSW