A single shot from a would-be assassin’s rifle failed in its objective and only nicked Donald Trump, but with vulpine cunning, he has seized upon this attempt to change the trajectory of his PR machine and create a new narrative (“The Trump resurrection”, July 20). I’m surprised he didn’t start his speech with: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears”. Alicia Dawson, Balmain
It’s a bit rich of Trump to now say he wants to unite the country and heal the division when he has mostly caused that division by not accepting the result of the 2020 election while continuing to perpetuate the big lie of a stolen election. His support for some of the insurrectionists has only added to this division. Leo Sorbello, West Ryde
Matt GoldingCredit:
As Trump triumphantly raised his fist and declared that Almighty God saved him from death, I couldn’t help but wonder if that is true given he has systematically broken so many of the 10 commandments, one by one by one. Richard Stewart, Pearl Beach
The Christian rhetoric swirling around the Trump camp should cause Christians to cringe. Trump seeks vengeance, Jesus preached forgiveness. Trump covets wealth, Jesus blessed the poor. Trump’s life is full of adultery and sexual abuse, Jesus preached purity of heart. Trump loves adulation, Jesus chose the hard road of suffering and death. His followers are calling this Christian nationalism, but it has nothing to do with Christ. Neil Ormerod, Kingsgrove
Who knew we would be applying words such as “resurrection” and “living martyr” to Trump? No argument - “lucky” is a huge vote-winner. Now the rest of the world is gazing at American exceptionalism on steroids, taking a deep breath and figuring out how to live with a second Trump presidency. But are we seeing more steely resolve, or has his confidence been ever so slightly shaken? A neat piece of succession planning in choice of running mate will have long-term implications. But again, who now dares look too far into the future? Margaret Johnston, Paddington
David Brooks’ article encapsulates his journalism excellence. It can be summed up in his final words: reject the patriotism of nostalgia, seek the patriotism of hope (“What Democrats need to do now”, July 20). I don’t agree with all of Brooks’ Republican-inspired views about the panacea of endless expansion. Nevertheless, I was heartened to read his “advice” to Democrats: They need to tap back into the more traditional American aspiration, “We are not sentenced to a permanent class-riven future but can create a fluid, mobile society.” Therese Curtis, Marsfield
The most telling thing about Biden’s refusal to withdraw from the presidential election race is that he can’t see what everyone else finds obvious. That is, he’s unelectable because of his lack of mental prowess. And lack of mental prowess is why he can’t see it. At this point, Trump is a shoo-in. If Biden goes now, he’ll do it with a trace of dignity. Ingrid Hawke, Balmain
While Biden attempts to counter Donald Trump’s cure for political cancer with his own bold bid to wind back the ravages of old age, the democratic process has fallen gravely ill. A cure for self-serving politicians and their insane hyperbole would appear to be the more pressing concern. Andrew Stark, Erina
The perils of third-party IT changes
What a lot of delinquent public companies we have here and overseas (“Major IT outage across Australia”, July 20). How could these companies allow a third-party provider CrowdStrike to access their internet banking and flight booking systems and thus cause such a worldwide catastrophe? In my working life, no third-party software supplier had access to any of our company’s IT systems. Any updated third-party software was first “tested” on our separate isolated system to ensure it worked and also did not compromise any other system/software that might be operating in the same environment. Each separate system was also tested for compatibility/social ability before release of any third-party software changes. Senior management at Qantas, Coles Woolworths, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ etc need to answer a few questions. Warren Bowden, Fairlight
Matt GoldingCredit:
I had a 40-year career in IT, mostly involving major systems. Not quite as big as this one, but the principles are the same – the cause here is incompetence, arrogance, penny-pinching or all three. Before you do an update you do a detailed risk analysis, work through the scenarios and you particularly plan and rehearse disaster recovery. Then you have updates that don’t cause major outages. It is nice that the CEO is “deeply sorry”. Michael McMullan, Avoca Beach
The experts have been fluffing around about the cause of this huge computer outage on Microsoft computers. I have not seen a “blue screen of death” since I threw out my Microsoft computer and went to an Apple Mac. This is because Apple makes sure I do not need any antivirus software, as they do it all themselves. No external antivirus software is allowed on a Mac computer as it is not needed. That is exactly why no Linux or Apple computer has been affected. Microsoft has just been too lazy to do the work to protect its users from foreign faulty software. I wonder whether they will start work on this. They are 30 years behind at the moment. Pamela Wood, McMahons Point
I must be missing something. A major hiccup by one technology company can wreak havoc around the world: 85 per cent of the world’s major companies, especially airlines, use Microsoft. As Julius once said, “Why is it so?” Geoff Simmons, Leichhardt
Further to Friday’s global cyber tech outage, perhaps cash still is king after all. Rose Lysnar, Orange
Could Martians be behind the cybersecurity glitch? Gentle warning about a universal method to wipe out half the planet in one easy chop? Ted Bush, North Epping
Hadley’s ‘duty’ recalls a devoted father
I especially enjoyed your interview with Ray Hadley for his use of the word “duty” to help explain his success in the media ( “‘Mellowed’ Hadley marks two decades at the top of talkback”, July 20). When I wrote my memoir The Sparrow Garden I prefaced it with two Polish words, moja sluzba , meaning “my duty”. They belonged to my father, Feliks Skrzynecki, who didn’t believe in taking “sickies” because he felt it was his duty to pay back to this country the opportunity it gave him for a second chance at life. Colds, sore back, et cetera, as far as he was concerned were part of the employment deal. He was a pick-and-shovel labourer working on the roads for Sydney Metropolitan Water, Sewerage & Drainage Board (Sydney Water). Only when he got cancer was it necessary to go to hospital. A farmer in Poland, he had also been a prisoner of the Germans and he had worked for five years in forced labour. My mother was a single mother from Ukraine; after the war, they met in a displaced persons camp in Germany and married. He became my adopting father. You could not have asked for a better father. Sometimes when I get the impulse to write poetry, I step back, scared of what I might or might not write. Or, like now, writing letters to the Herald, I think, “What’s the point?” Then I remember my father’s words. Peter Skrzynecki, Eastwood
Little battles
After reading Malcolm Knox’s article and after my own experience of a dispute with my neighbour, it has become clear why we cannot easily solve world conflicts (“Most of us fight with our neighbours. There’s an easy fix, but you won’t like it”, July 21). The problem being that neither party wants to concede any ground. If two individuals cannot solve their paltry neighbourhood disputes, it is no wonder wars are usually protracted affairs of attrition. Like Knox, after attempting all measures from soft power, then intervention by third parties, such as the useless conciliation processes run by the Office of Fair Trading, I sold the place and moved on. What was the issue? To my shame, it was not loss of lives, destruction of cities and their infrastructure, no, it was an uncarpeted floor in the flat above mine which made my life, almost, not worth living. Definitely a first world problem and yet, disturbingly, a common one. Lyndall Nelson, Goulburn
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Tolled you so
Not least of the inequities in Sydney’s road network is the tolling regime that punishes the western suburbs people who can least afford it and rewards those living in the northern suburbs who can (“Toll road companies have become an unnecessary burden on motorists”, July 20). Sadly, I disagree with remarks about the toll companies not having the continuing right to impose these unfair and unsustainable arrangements on the people of NSW. Regrettably, they do have that right thanks to watertight contracts lasting for decades. And make no mistake, despite Transurban mouthing its willingness to negotiate in good faith, don’t get your hopes up. Alan Phillips, Mosman
It was not a private company that “imposed an unfair and unsustainable arrangement lasting forever and a day”, it was the former Coalition government that negotiated the contracts with Transurban. The blame rests with the Coalition, not the toll company. Graham Cochrane, Balmain
Education pioneer
Occupying an inconsequential place in Saturday’s obituaries was the name Eula Guthrie. She deserved more space and commentary because she was arguably one of, if not the most, influential female figure, in the history of NSW education. I had the privilege and the daunting task of being her professional assistant for three years during her time as regional director Liverpool Region, the first female to be appointed to this role. She was an outstanding orator, a brilliant writer and a much loved and acclaimed teacher at St George Girls High. Eula was scared of no one and at times she could be a real no-backward-stepping scrapper. Her career was marked by battles that she rarely lost. No doubt her greatest victory was the promotion and injection of women into high office at the previously male-dominated Department of Education. She was a feminist in the true and practical sense of the word. I remember her with respect and admiration. Trevor Somerville, Illawong
Whine region
Winemaker Nick O’Leary is clutching at straws when he claims tourism for the vineyards would diminish if a solar farm was built near Wallaroo in the Southern Tablelands (“Big project threatening tiny town”, July 20). I do not believe the ugly open cut coal mining in the Hunter region of NSW has had any impact on those visiting the vineyards in the area. A solar farm is far less threatening than coal mines and it is time those from the city visited a solar farm no matter where it is to appreciate and learn how they work. Robyn Lewis, Raglan
Passengers in the back of a taxi film themselves as they leave the Eiffel Tower decorated with the Olympic rings ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.Credit: David Goldman/AP Photo
City of blight
I visited Paris five weeks ago and the city’s a mess (“Traffic jams, sirens and delays: Here’s what Paris is like right now”, July 20). Iconic sites like the Place de la Concorde and the Petit Palais were cordoned off. In recent political turmoil, activists defaced famous monuments at Place de la Bastille and Place de la Republique.
My wife and I stayed in the Marais quarter and witnessed the mobilisation of a 3000-strong police force in full riot gear to control 70,000 protesters. The costs associated with containing threats of terrorism and political demonstrations are clearly enormous. Recently, the French audit office said that the country’s ailing public finances had left the Eurozone’s second-biggest economy “dangerously exposed” in case of a new macroeconomic shock. Many governments must now view winning an Olympic bid as the mother of all hospital passes and we may soon see serious consideration being given to the oft-discussed idea of holding the Games in their traditional home, Athens, every four years. John Kempler, Rose Bay
Size doesn’t count
Good to see that heightism isn’t being rewarded (“PM gives reporter short shrift in defamation case”, July 20). There seems to be a common misconception that body size equals brainpower. “She’s small but very intelligent/gutsy/smart”, is a frequent remark suggesting small size and intelligence in a woman are somehow mutually exclusive. I’m not an admirer of Giorgia Meloni, but good on her for pulling herself up to her full height and saying enough is enough. Judy Hungerford, Kew (Vic)
French accent
The correct pronunciation of Paris’ river is roughly in the middle of your two examples: longer than hen but shorter than sane. Very close to “scène” if that helps (Letters, July 20). Lewis Kaplan, Birchgrove
I faced the same dilemma as your correspondent over the pronunciation of the Seine. Years ago at school we were taught that Seine rhymed with “sane”. However, in March this year we were assured by a Parisian taxi driver that the correct pronunciation is “senne”. Local knowledge beats a French speaking Aussie teacher any day. Merona Martin, Meroo Meadow
Tough choice
Your correspondent asks is paying a bribe any different to paying a ransom (Letters, July 20). Paying bribe is definitely your choice. Paying a ransom, not so much. Steve Nelson, Cremorne
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