Latest news with #PeterThomson
The Age
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Coming together to express horror in Gaza
The risks of AI Danielle Wood nominates the increased usage of AI as her No.1 discussion point for the upcoming productivity roundtable. She acknowledges there are risks that require increased regulation. While the focus of the roundtable is to reduce redtape and increase productivity, the increasing use of AI is indeed a double-edged sword. Big business will be salivating at the costs to be saved and the fewer employees it needs by AI's greater use. Not all the financial benefits of increased productivity should flow to business profits and executive bonuses. Robust controls-protections will be needed to support workers in their immediate and long-term displacement. A Labor government should not be encouraging the slashing of redtape and introduction of new work practices that exacerbate the position of those workers and consumers bearing the brunt of any new technologies. Peter Thomson, Brunswick Morality and war Your correspondent (Letters, 9/7) suggests that few now doubt the moral rectitude of those who take part in Melbourne's weekly Gaza demonstrations. But one is certainly entitled to question the righteousness of those, like your correspondent, who have nothing to say either about Hamas' vile war crime of continuing to hold Israeli hostages, or its human shield strategy that inevitably maximises civilian loss of life. The foremost tragedy of this war is that so many appear to be motivated more by their desire to demonise and delegitimise Israel, than by genuine concern for the welfare of Palestinians. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the uniqueness of this conflict in which efforts to allow civilians to get out of harm's way have been steadfastly resisted. Israel is accused of ethnic cleansing in wanting to facilitate this, but when it doesn't happen, it's accused of genocide. Geoff Feren, St Kilda East What is chant's origin? The fact that demonstrators chanted ″Death to the IDF″ in Melbourne last Sunday deserves more thought. During the rallies against the Vietnam War, no one chanted, ″Death to the American forces″. I know. I was there. When demonstrators marched against the war in Iraq, this did not happen either. No one has marched and chanted for the deaths of Putin, Bashar al-Assad, the generals of Myanmar, or the leaders in the Sudanese war, all ongoing, or recent conflicts. Where could this come from? Surely this is more than anger at the IDF? Pia Brous, Armadale Living in harmony Listening to the Rabbi of the East Melbourne Synagogue on ABC Radio on Monday was inspiring, especially when he spoke of a recent admission of one of his children to the Royal Children's Hospital. At the hospital, he was in a discussion with Muslim and Christian parents. They spoke about what a wonderful country we live in. Australia is made up of many nationalities and cultures, but we must co-exist harmoniously. It is the best country, let's keep it that way. Peter O'Brien, Newport Why muted response? There has been a public outcry about the attacks on two synagogues from our leaders, but hardly a peep out of them, especially the LNP, about the wanton destruction and slaughter going on in Palestine. John Cain, McCrae Putin is not worried I doubt that Vladimir Putin will be too concerned over angering Donald Trump with his intransigence over the Ukraine war he seems uninterested in ending. Putin needs to only wait a few days for Trump to change his mind yet again or if that fails Putin can nominate Trump for a Nobel prize – it seems to be the popular move at the moment. Ross Hudson, Mount Martha Trump, meet Kissinger On the other hand, a Nobel Peace Prize would put Trump in company with the likes of Henry Kissinger – seems about right. Maurie Keenan, Balaclava Protecting the oceans Australia certainly extends beyond Portland, to South Australia and beyond (Letters, 7/7). And the problem of algal bloom around SA is both a major problem itself, and a symptom of the ″marine heatwave″ in the oceans around Australia. The core problem is global warming, including of the sea. In 2024, then environment minister Tanya Plibersek, extended the area of marine parks, including off the coast of Victoria and South Australia. This brought the total area of protected marine space to 52 per cent of Australia's ocean territory. That is a start, but not enough. Marine scientists are calling for $40 million to be spent on marine research and damage mitigation. There is already some focus on worsening bleaching to coral on the Great Barrier Reef. This effort must be extended to cover all of Australia's marine areas. John Hughes, Mentone Teaching is a calling I feel obliged to reply to several letters (8/7) about teacher training. In 1958, I started a two-year course in a UK residential teacher training college. As well as visiting several different types of schools and attending lectures relevant to our choice of courses, we had six teaching practices in classrooms. I completed the course in 1960 and was qualified to teach in secondary schools. When I migrated to Australia in 1971 the authorities here accepted my teaching qualification and experience. I retired from a very enjoyable teaching career in 2003. My own secondary education was in a grammar school where all the staff had to have a university degree. Some of my teachers were very good and some, in spite of their degrees, were not. Teaching is not a job. It is a calling comparable with, say, nursing. Chris Rhodes, Gisborne The erosion of joy Managerial culture came to universities in the 1990s (Comment, 9/7). The most noticeable change was the growth of university bureaucracies. To support a corporate culture, university bureaucracies became gigantic. Campuses were filled with layer upon layer of administrators. As a result of these bureaucratic layers, academic activities such as teaching, research and publishing became onerous. The joy of being an academic, and making a contribution to knowledge, was slowly eroded. Dr Sarah Russell, Mt Martha A conciliatory gesture After analysing his own behaviour, Benjamin Netanyahu must see Donald Trump's behaviour as deserving of a peace prize. Dropping only a handful of enormous bombs on another country would seem conciliatory. John Groom, Bentleigh A noble endeavour I'm now soliciting support to nominate myself for the Nobel Prize for Literature for my body of work in Letters to the Age. Peter Price, Southbank AFL out on the full The AFL has lost the plot with its proposed in-season tournament to keep the fans engaged. Instead, how about just progressing all clubs to the finals. Jenny Bone, Surrey Hills AND ANOTHER THING Trump Benjamin Netanyahu nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize is a very dark and scary sick joke. Brendan O'Farrell, Brunswick What an absolute insult to the prize itself. Carole Ruta, Benalla Donald Trump nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize – an oxymoron in keeping with the contradictory naming of the prize. Greg Curtin, Nunawading I'd like to nominate RFK jnr for the Nobel Prize for Medicine. Stephen Baldwin, Frankston ″Donald Trump is like an auctioneer in an ill-fitting suit and loud tie, trying to sell a property that no one wants to buy.″ (Stephen Bartholomeuz, 9/7). A perfect image of TACO Donald Trump. Kay Moulton, Surrey Hills The Trump administration is like one big game of Deal or No Deal. Ron Mather, Melbourne Furthermore How wonderful to have a system of interest-rate settings based on economic reality, not government whim. Graeme Rose, Wangaratta Discussion about the AFL's two-tier competition distracts the football public from bigger issues like the league's dependence on gambling revenue. David Cayzer, Clifton Hill Surely the AFL isn't spooked by the State of Origin in the NRL? Three games that pack out the stands and rate highly on TV but the regular attendance at weekly matches is minuscule compared to the crowds that flock to the AFL. Phil Alexander, Eltham
San Francisco Chronicle
08-07-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Today in Sports - Serena Williams wins her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title in the Wimbledon final
July 9 1922 — Johnny Weissmuller is the first to swim the 100-meter freestyle under 1 minute as he breaks Duke Kahanamoku's world record with a time of 58.6 seconds. 1932 — The NFL awards a franchise to Boston under the ownership of George Preston Marshall, Vincent Bendix, Jay O'Brien, and Dorland Doyle. The Boston Braves will change their nickname to Redskins in 1933 and move to Washington after the 1936 season. 1940 — The National League registers the first shutout, 4-0, in the All-Star game. 1954 — Peter Thomson becomes the first Australian to win the British Open. Thomson shoots a 9-under 283 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, edging Bobby Locke, Dai Rees and Syd Scott by one stroke. 1965 — Peter Thomson wins his fifth British Open title by two strokes over Brian Huggett and Christy O'Connor Sr. Thomson shoots a 7-under 285 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Thomson's previous Open victory was in 1958. It's the last to conclude with two rounds on Friday. 1966 — Jack Nicklaus wins the British Open with a 282 at Muirfield to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player as the only men to win the four majors. 1967 — Mark Spitz and Catie Ball, both 17, swim to world records, and 14-year-old Debbie Meyer sets two records in one race in the Santa Clara International Invitational swim meet. Spitz sets a 100-meter butterfly record at 56.3 and Ball becomes the first U.S. swimmer to set a world record for the breaststroke with a 2:40.5 time for 200 meters. Meyer breaks the 800-meter freestyle record in 9 minutes, 35.8 seconds on the way to a record 18:11.1 in the 1,500. 1968 — Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first reigning NBA MVP to be traded the next season when he moves from Philadelphia 76'ers to LA Lakers. 1988 — Nolan Ryan is 7th to win 100 game on 2 teams, as Astro beat Mets 6-3. 1989 — Boris Becker and Steffi Graf claim a West German sweep of the Wimbledon singles crowns in the first double finals day in 16 years. Becker wins his third Wimbledon title in five years, rolling past defending champion Stefan Edberg 6-0, 7-6 (1), 6-4, while Graf takes her second straight championship over Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-1. 1991 — South Africa is readmitted by the International Olympic Committee to the Olympic movement, ending decades of sports isolation and clearing the way for its participation in the 1992 Games. 1995 — Pete Sampras becomes the first American to win Wimbledon three straight years by beating Boris Becker 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. 2000 — Pete Sampras passes Roy Emerson for the most Grand Slam championships and ties Willie Renshaw, a player in the 1880s, for the most Wimbledon titles with a four-set victory over Pat Rafter. Sampras, winner of seven Wimbledon titles, 13 Grand Slam championships, extends his mark at Wimbledon to 53-1 over the past eight years. 2001 — Goran Ivanisevic becomes one of Wimbledon's most improbable champions, beating Patrick Rafter. Two points away from defeat, Ivanisevic rallies to beat Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 and becomes the second player to win a Wimbledon singles title without being seeded. 2006 — Roger Federer ends a five-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal, winning 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3 to earn his fourth straight Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam championship. Nadal had beaten Federer in four finals this year. 2006 — Italy wins its fourth World Cup title winning the shootout 5-3 against France, after a 1-1 draw. Outplayed for an hour and into extra time, the Italians win it after French captain Zinedine Zidane is ejected in the 107th for a vicious butt to the chest of Marco Materazzi. 2009 — Joe Sakic retires after 21 NHL seasons with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, finishing with 625 goals and 1,641 points. 2011 — Derek Jeter homers for his 3,000th hit, making him the first player to reach the mark with the New York Yankees. 2016 — Serena Williams wins her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title by beating Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final. Williams pulls even with Steffi Graf for the most major championships in the Open era, which began in 1968. This is Williams' seventh singles trophy at the All England Club. 2021 — British road cyclist Mark Cavendish wins Nimes to Carcassonne stage 13 of the Tour de France for his 34th career state win. The win ties Eddy Merckx for most career stage wins. _____
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
10 Steps Needed for Ocean Action Now
Aerial view of workers removing sargassum from the shore of Playa del Carmen Beach in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, on June 18, 2025. Credit - Elizabeth Ruiz—AFP/Getty Images The recent United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, which we joined along with leaders from around the world, brought notable accomplishments in its mission to address the mounting threats to the seas, from pledges to reduce the flow of toxins into the water to new financing commitments for ocean economies. But as Peter Thomson, the UN's Special Envoy for the Ocean, noted as the event closed: 'It's not so much what happens at the conference, it is what happens afterwards.' So what needs to happen now? The good news is that we have many of the tools. Science and decades of experience have shown us what works. We know how to restore coral reefs, manage fisheries to produce more food and income, and stop fertilizers and untreated sewage from running into the sea. This isn't a crisis of complexity. It's a crisis of execution. What's missing is broad participation and a focus on clear, immediate, actionable steps. Heads of state, ministers, NGOs, and scientists showed up in force in Nice. But to translate ambitious pledges into durable results, we also need more business leaders at the table. This is an ocean planet. And every company—whether it realizes it or not—depends on the biodiversity, food systems, and shipping routes the ocean sustains. If the ocean fails, we all fail. That's why the private sector must play a role—not just as funders or advocates, but as partners and engines of solutions that scale. We need more public-private alliances that can help turn proven ocean solutions into real-world outcomes. We've both seen this work through organizations like Friends of Ocean Action, which convenes leaders from across sectors to accelerate ocean solutions and track progress on global goals, and the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, which works on the ground to protect marine ecosystems and improve water quality across one of America's most vulnerable coastal regions. We're also inspired by a rising generation of ecopreneurs aiming to fix ocean problems while generating profit. At the Blue Economy and Finance Forum in Monaco, held ahead of the UN Ocean Conference, public and private investors pledged $10 billion in new "blue finance" to further scale the rapidly growing ocean economy. The 1000 Ocean Startups coalition, a global network of incubators, accelerators and investors, has already raised more than $4 billion in capital and is halfway to its goal of funding 1,000 ocean ventures tackling marine challenges like seaweed farming, microplastic filtration and wind-powered transport. Previously, we outlined a straightforward blueprint for global coral reef recovery. These same principles apply across the broader marine agenda. We believe progress can be made between now and the next UN Ocean Conference scheduled for 2028 by focusing on the following 10 steps. Strengthen U.S. fisheries by ending industrial-scale reduction fishing and midwater trawling for forage fishThese are small fish that feed bigger fish and whole ocean ecosystems. A handful of industrial operations are chiseling away at the base of the food chains for our U.S. coastal economy by scooping up hundreds of thousands of tons of these fish —not for food, but to be ground up into meal and oil, a large proportion which is then exported. Ending these practices and managing forage fish at ecologically sound levels will protect food chains, support fishermen, and improve U.S. marine resilience. Solve the Tijuana River years, billions of gallons of raw sewage and industrial waste from Mexico have poured into American waters off San Diego, harming ecosystems and undermining public health. The solutions, including the installation of floodgates to prevent sewage overflow and stronger oversight of Mexican treatment plants, are well understood. This is a test of will, not capacity. Make ocean polluters old notion that 'dilution is the solution to pollution' no longer holds in an era where industrial and pharmaceutical waste is outpacing our ability to detect it. We need a new approach—one that stops pollutants from entering the ocean in the first place and makes transparent who is discharging what, and where. That means clear rules, public reporting, and a robust 'polluter pays' principle to shift the burden onto those doing the damage. Adopt a new and balanced approach to U.S. marine protected treasure our National Parks on land. There is also a place for parks in the busy, working ocean. Well-designed ocean parks can support tourism, expand the U.S. geopolitical presence, and increase fish stocks. But the real work for a marine protected area begins after they are created. We must continue to invest and care for these parks. In Papahānaumokuākea, American's largest ocean park, that has meant public-private partnerships that ensure access to its sacred places, and funding clean up efforts to remove almost a million pounds of hazardous plastic pollution and debris from its coral reefs. Extend programs from the Trump administration's marine debris cleanups and reductions of plastic pollution and other debris have delivered concrete gains for U.S. fisheries, wildlife, and communities that depend on clean beaches and coastlines. We should reauthorize that mandate and build on and scale those successes. Restore America's coastal efforts are needed for our coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and salt marshes, as natural hurricane defenses. That includes the Mangrove Breakthrough supported by Salesforce. They are among the most cost-effective ways to protect ocean-front infrastructure from increasingly severe storms. Shrink the Gulf dead runoff is creating massive low-oxygen zones that suffocate Gulf fisheries. Supporting farmers to adopt proven techniques to reduce and soak up pollution before it gets into rivers and oceans is a win for farmers and fishermen alike. Leverage American innovation to sidestep the need to mine our encouraging entrepreneurship and tech advancement we can reduce our reliance on foreign critical minerals and reserve these materials for key defense applications. This includes supporting U.S. national lab programs and private sector innovation to scale up use of next-generation battery technologies built with more readily available materials like iron instead of cobalt. Sustained success here would reduce or eliminate the need to begin mining for these minerals in the ocean—an activity which would negatively impact US fisheries, could introduce toxins into our seafood supply, and involve costly spending by the US government. Address the Sargassum seaweed blooms now plague Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Caribbean. Coordinated cleanup and reduction of nutrient runoff near West Africa and the Amazon—significant Sargassum points of origin—are some of the important steps needed to contain this growing threat. Stop the sewage killing coral reefs in U.S. from Florida to Hawai'i are collapsing in part because we have allowed leaking septic systems, outdated infrastructure, and uncontrolled runoff to poison the very ecosystems that sustain tourism, fisheries, and coastal communities. Across all of these fronts, we believe in a core principle: focus on what's achievable and measurable. With smart, common-sense steps, we can secure thriving oceans that sustain American jobs, coastal communities, and national security—while restoring life to some of the planet's most vital and magnificent ecosystems. Contact us at letters@
Time Magazine
24-06-2025
- Business
- Time Magazine
10 Steps Needed for Ocean Action Now
The recent United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, which we joined along with leaders from around the world, brought notable accomplishments in its mission to address the mounting threats to the seas, from pledges to reduce the flow of toxins into the water to new financing commitments for ocean economies. But as Peter Thomson, the UN's Special Envoy for the Ocean, noted as the event closed: 'It's not so much what happens at the conference, it is what happens afterwards.' So what needs to happen now? The good news is that we have many of the tools. Science and decades of experience have shown us what works. We know how to restore coral reefs, manage fisheries to produce more food and income, and stop fertilizers and untreated sewage from running into the sea. This isn't a crisis of complexity. It's a crisis of execution. What's missing is broad participation and a focus on clear, immediate, actionable steps. Heads of state, ministers, NGOs, and scientists showed up in force in Nice. But to translate ambitious pledges into durable results, we also need more business leaders at the table. This is an ocean planet. And every company—whether it realizes it or not—depends on the biodiversity, food systems, and shipping routes the ocean sustains. If the ocean fails, we all fail. That's why the private sector must play a role—not just as funders or advocates, but as partners and engines of solutions that scale. We need more public-private alliances that can help turn proven ocean solutions into real-world outcomes. We've both seen this work through organizations like Friends of Ocean Action, which convenes leaders from across sectors to accelerate ocean solutions and track progress on global goals, and the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, which works on the ground to protect marine ecosystems and improve water quality across one of America's most vulnerable coastal regions. We're also inspired by a rising generation of ecopreneurs aiming to fix ocean problems while generating profit. At the Blue Economy and Finance Forum in Monaco, held ahead of the UN Ocean Conference, public and private investors pledged $10 billion in new "blue finance" to further scale the rapidly growing ocean economy. The 1000 Ocean Startups coalition, a global network of incubators, accelerators and investors, has already raised more than $4 billion in capital and is halfway to its goal of funding 1,000 ocean ventures tackling marine challenges like seaweed farming, microplastic filtration and wind-powered transport. Previously, we outlined a straightforward blueprint for global coral reef recovery. These same principles apply across the broader marine agenda. We believe progress can be made between now and the next UN Ocean Conference scheduled for 2028 by focusing on the following 10 steps. Strengthen U.S. fisheries by ending industrial-scale reduction fishing and midwater trawling for forage fishThese are small fish that feed bigger fish and whole ocean ecosystems. A handful of industrial operations are chiseling away at the base of the food chains for our U.S. coastal economy by scooping up hundreds of thousands of tons of these fish —not for food, but to be ground up into meal and oil, a large proportion which is then exported. Ending these practices and managing forage fish at ecologically sound levels will protect food chains, support fishermen, and improve U.S. marine resilience. Solve the Tijuana River years, billions of gallons of raw sewage and industrial waste from Mexico have poured into American waters off San Diego, harming ecosystems and undermining public health. The solutions, including the installation of floodgates to prevent sewage overflow and stronger oversight of Mexican treatment plants, are well understood. This is a test of will, not capacity. Make ocean polluters old notion that 'dilution is the solution to pollution' no longer holds in an era where industrial and pharmaceutical waste is outpacing our ability to detect it. We need a new approach—one that stops pollutants from entering the ocean in the first place and makes transparent who is discharging what, and where. That means clear rules, public reporting, and a robust 'polluter pays' principle to shift the burden onto those doing the damage. Adopt a new and balanced approach to U.S. marine protected treasure our National Parks on land. There is also a place for parks in the busy, working ocean. Well-designed ocean parks can support tourism, expand the U.S. geopolitical presence, and increase fish stocks. But the real work for a marine protected area begins after they are created. We must continue to invest and care for these parks. In Papahānaumokuākea, American's largest ocean park, that has meant public-private partnerships that ensure access to its sacred places, and funding clean up efforts to remove almost a million pounds of hazardous plastic pollution and debris from its coral reefs. Extend programs from the Trump administration's marine debris cleanups and reductions of plastic pollution and other debris have delivered concrete gains for U.S. fisheries, wildlife, and communities that depend on clean beaches and coastlines. We should reauthorize that mandate and build on and scale those successes. Restore America's coastal efforts are needed for our coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and salt marshes, as natural hurricane defenses. That includes the Mangrove Breakthrough supported by Salesforce. They are among the most cost-effective ways to protect ocean-front infrastructure from increasingly severe storms. Shrink the Gulf dead runoff is creating massive low-oxygen zones that suffocate Gulf fisheries. Supporting farmers to adopt proven techniques to reduce and soak up pollution before it gets into rivers and oceans is a win for farmers and fishermen alike. Leverage American innovation to sidestep the need to mine our encouraging entrepreneurship and tech advancement we can reduce our reliance on foreign critical minerals and reserve these materials for key defense applications. This includes supporting U.S. national lab programs and private sector innovation to scale up use of next-generation battery technologies built with more readily available materials like iron instead of cobalt. Sustained success here would reduce or eliminate the need to begin mining for these minerals in the ocean—an activity which would negatively impact US fisheries, could introduce toxins into our seafood supply, and involve costly spending by the US government. Address the Sargassum seaweed blooms now plague Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Caribbean. Coordinated cleanup and reduction of nutrient runoff near West Africa and the Amazon—significant Sargassum points of origin—are some of the important steps needed to contain this growing threat. Stop the sewage killing coral reefs in U.S. from Florida to Hawai'i are collapsing in part because we have allowed leaking septic systems, outdated infrastructure, and uncontrolled runoff to poison the very ecosystems that sustain tourism, fisheries, and coastal communities. Across all of these fronts, we believe in a core principle: focus on what's achievable and measurable. With smart, common-sense steps, we can secure thriving oceans that sustain American jobs, coastal communities, and national security—while restoring life to some of the planet's most vital and magnificent ecosystems.
The National
17-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
You can condemn Israel's crimes without whitewashing Iran's
Let's be clear: Israel is absolutely guilty of war crimes. I've long condemned its bombing of Gaza, the siege, the apartheid system in the West Bank, and the systemic targeting of journalists and aid convoys. But what I won't do is turn a blind eye to Iran's own behaviour just because it happens to be on the other side of this conflict. To claim, as Leah Gunn Barrett does, that 'Iran doesn't deliberately murder civilians' is simply false. Iran's regime doesn't need to drop the bombs themselves – it's spent decades arming and directing groups who do. Hezbollah has shelled Israeli towns with rockets for years. The Houthis – trained and armed by Iran – have launched missiles at Saudi airports and civilian infrastructure. Shia militias in Iraq – again, Iranian-backed – opened fire on unarmed Iraqi protesters in 2019, killing more than 500. And in Syria, Iran directly enabled Assad's massacre of civilians, helping to bomb schools, hospitals and homes. These are not rumours — they are documented, photographed, and reported by the UN, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch. Iran may use others to do its dirty work, but the civilians are still just as dead. Peter Thomson calls Israel's strike on Iran 'unprovoked.' That erases a critical fact: on April 13 2024, Iran launched a wave of more than 300 drones and missiles directly at Israeli cities – not through proxies, but from Iranian territory. It was the first direct attack of its kind. What did you think Israel was going to do? Send flowers? None of this excuses Netanyahu or the crimes committed in Gaza. But context matters. Iran is not a neutral actor caught in the crossfire – it is a state with regional ambitions, a vast military, and a long record of supporting violence beyond its borders. And on the nuclear issue: yes, Israel is a nuclear power and refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That's a valid criticism. But Iran is no honest broker. It has hidden nuclear sites, blocked inspections, and enriched uranium far beyond civilian levels. It was caught sanitising facilities and removing International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring cameras – behaviour consistent with someone preparing not for peace, but for leverage. And if you think nuclear weapons in the hands of a regime that hangs protestors, jails women for dancing, and wants Israel 'erased from the pages of time' is somehow a path to regional stability, I'd urge a rethink. Isobel Lindsay's suggestion of a total boycott of Israel also ignores the obvious: many Israelis oppose their own government. From B'Tselem to former IDF soldiers in Breaking the Silence, there is resistance within the state. Blanket boycotts often silence allies more than they pressure governments. Let me say it plain: Palestine is not Iran. The Palestinian people are under occupation, denied a state, and bombed into rubble. Iran is a regional power, funding militant groups and crushing its own citizens under religious law. Conflating the two is not solidarity – it's erasure. You can condemn Israel's crimes without whitewashing Iran's. You can support Palestine without excusing Tehran's ambitions. You can hold two truths at once – and if we care about real peace, we must. James Murphy Bute I WRITE in reply to Leah Gunn Barrett. She says that Iran and the Houthis don't target civilians. Iran are doing just that now, it is totally indiscriminate. I don't agree with Israel's actions either. Norman Robertson via email I WONDER when the Labour UK Government will start sending armed forces to help Russia defend itself? Surely Starmer and co must be lining up troops, planes and even the navy to help protect Russia from the Ukrainians? This may sound bizarre, but it's not any more ridiculous than sending support to help defend Israel from the retaliation it is receiving from Iran. Israel started the war with Iran – but UK foreign policy seems, at least in Israel's case, to support the aggressor and pretend that they are the victim. The BBC is already on the case with its usual mix of lies and misinformation. Thanks to Starmer and his allies putting up with Israeli atrocities across the Middle East, not least their genocide of the Palestinians (which has now been dropped by all mainstream media), Netanyahu feels he can do whatever he wants to anyone and no-one will stop him. The UK is complicit in Israel's war crimes – we are arming and supporting Israel in its genocide and apparently helping to defend it from Iran's justifiable attacks on the aggressor state of Israel. The UK Government has become a puppet regime of Israel – there to do their bidding and support whatever atrocity they want to carry out. Cllr Kenny MacLaren Paisley
